IN  CHINA 

Henry  F.  Williams 


STATUES  LINING  APPROACH  TO  MING  TOMB,  NANKING 


In  China 

BS 

Re^.  Henn?  F.  Williams,  D.D. 

A SketcK  of  fKe  Foreign  Missions 

of  4»e 

Presbyterian 
CHURCH,  u.  s. 


Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions 
MasKville,  Tennessee 


Educational  Department 


INTRODUCTION 


The  purpose  of  this  small  volume  is  to  supply  a con- 
densed account  of  the  heginning,  progress  and  results  of 
the  missionary  activities  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  U. 
S.  (Southern)  in  China.  It  is  intended  for  use  by  mis- 
sion study  classes,  Church  Schools  of  Missions,  and,  where 
the  general  text  hooks  on  China  are  used,  as  a supple- 
mental study  of  the  work  of  our  denomination  in  China 

I'he  necessary  limitation  in  space  has  made  it  impossible 
to  indulge  the  desire  of  the  writer  to  make  full  mention, 
by  name,  of  our  faithful,  self-sacrificing  missionaries  who 
have  for  varying  lengths  of  time,  served  the  Church  as 
our  representatives  in  China. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  made  for  the  use  of  copi- 
ous minutes  of  station  conferences  held  by  Rev.  Egbert 
Mb  Smith,  D.D.,  Executive  Secretary,  during  his  official 
visit  to  our  Mission  fields  in  the  Orient. 

The  kindly  assistance  of  friends  who  have  read  the 
manuscript  of  this  booklet  and  made  helpful  suggestions 
is  mentioned  with  appreciation. — H.  F.  W. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Chapter  I 7 

China — Geography,  Greatness  in  Extent,  History,  Popu- 
lation, Literature — Achievements  of  Missions — Great  Need 
and  Opportunity. 

Chapter  II  . 15 

Beginning  of  Presbyterian  U.  S.  Mission — Conditions 
Found  by  Early  Missionaries. 

Chapter  III  21 

A Travel  Survey — A Study  in  Geography. 

Chapter  IA^  27 

Mid-China  Mission — The  Field — Station  Sketches. 

Chapter  49 

North  Kiangsu  Mission — The  Field — Station  Sketches. 

Chapter  A^I  75 


A Second  Survey — Statistical  Summary — Some  Present 
Facts. 


CHINA 


“When  China  is  moved  it  will  change  the  face  of  the 
globe.” — Napoleon  at  St.  Helena. 


Chapter  1 

THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE 

China  is  called  by  its  own  people,  “The  Middle  King- 
dom."’ On  the  ancient  maps,  China  was  placed  in  the  mid- 
dle. A series  of  islands  and  headlands  along  the  west 
represented  such  countries  as  England,  Germany,  Hol- 
land, Portugal  and  India.  The  southern  and  eastern 
edges  of  the  map  were  dotted  with  islands  representing 
Japan,  Formosa,  Java,  Siam,  and  Burma.  The  continents 
of  North  and  South  America  and  Africa  were  not  shown 
on  this  Chinese  map.  In  these  later  years  the  people  of 
China,  largely  through  Christian  education,  are  better 
informed  of  the  geography  of  their  country  and  of  the 
world..  Other  names  given  to  China  are : “The  Flowery 
Land,”  “The  Celestial  Kingdom,”  “Hills  of  Tang,”  and 
“Far  Cathay.” 

Two  Great  Rivers 

China  is  a great  country  in  extent,  population,  history 
and  literature.  It  has  its  great  rivers,  great  desert,  great 
wall  and  the  Grand  Canal.  The  two  great  rivers  of 
China  and  the  Grand  Canal  are  of  especial  interest  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S.  (Southern)  on  account  of 


10 


IN  CHIN A 


walls  as  a means  of  defense.  They  have  2300  walled 
cities.  Over  two  thousand  years  ago  they  undertook  to 
keep  out  their  enemies,  especially  the  Tartars,  by  build- 
ing the  Great  Wall,  still  accounted  one  of  the  wonders 
of  the  world.  It  is  made  of  brick  and  stone  laid  up  in 
thick  walls  and  filled  in  with  earth.  It  varies  from  fifteen 
to  thirty  feet  in  height  and  is  carried  through  valleys  and 
over  mountains,  sometimes  to  the  tops  of  almost  inac- 
cessible peaks,  in  an  unbroken  line  for  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  The  Great  Wall  and  the  walled  cities  have  ceased 
to  be  important  as  means  of  defense,  but  they  are  expres- 
sive of  the  achievements  of  a great  people  and  have  been 
an  important  factor  in  the  missionary  history  of  China. 

Great  History  and  Literature 

China  has  a great  history,  great  in  its  period  of  at 
least  four  thousand  years,  and  equally  great  as  a record 
of  the  events  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  nations  of  all 
history.  The  “one  thing”  lacking  by  people  and  rulers 
is  the  saving  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  prevail- 
ing principles  of  His  Kingdom.  China’s  only  hope  in 
this  day  of  its  governmental  chaos  and  uncertainty  is  in 
its  acceptance  of  Christianity,  changing  the  nation  from 
heathen  to  Christian. 

China  has  a great  literature,  the  work  of  a compara- 
tively few  great  scholars.  The  missionary  is  most  deeply 
interested  in  the  literature  of  the  non-Christian  religions, 
such  as  Buddhism,  Confucianism,  etc.,  but  the  new  day 
in  educational  matters  in  China  places  an  enlarged  re- 
sponsibility on  the  Christian  education  of  young  China. 
The  vast  examination  halls  have  fallen  into  decay  or  the 
sites  have  been  used  for  government  school  buildings. 


IN  CHIN  A 


11 


Shall  the  education  of  the  future  be  purely  intellectual, 
often  outright  skeptical,  or  shall  it  be  Christian?  The 
answer  is  to  be  made  by  the  evangelical  churches  of  the 
so-called  Christian  nations. 

These  great  facts  and  conditions  are  mentioned  because 
they  have,  and  will  continue  to  have,  a direct  relation  to 
the  missionarv  service  of  our  Southern  Presbyterian 
Church  in  China.  There  are  also  three  outstanding  pres- 
ent day  facts  that  relate  to  the  missionary  occupation  of 
China:  (1)  the  great  results,  (2)  the  great  need,  (3) 
the  great  opportunity.  ' 

Achievements  of  Protestant  Missions 

The  achievements  of  Protestant  missions  in  China 
along  the  three  general  lines  of  missionary  occupation 
(evangelism,  Christian  education,  and  medical  missions) 
have  been  far  greater  than  the  early  missionaries  had 
reason  to  expect,  except  as  they  relied  upon  the  promise 
of  blessing  as  they  went  to  the  “uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth”  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  their  Lord.  The 
great  National  Christian  Conference  which  met  in  Shang- 
hai, May,  1922,  afiforded  an  unparalleled  opportunity  for 
an  investigation  of  the  missionary  occupation  of  China. 
Twelve  hundred  delegates  represented  all  the  Christian 
forces  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  proper,  and 
Manchuria,  Mongolia  and  Thibet.  The  Centenary  Con- 
ference of  1907  which  celebrated  the  one  hundredth  an- 
niversary of  the  arrival  of  Robert  Morrison  in  Canton 
was  composed  mainly  of  missionaries  and  representatives 
of  mission  boards  and  other  missionary  agencies.  A 
feature  of  the  1922  Conference  that  marks  the  progress 
of  Christianity  in  China  was  the  fact  that  the  Chinese 


12 


IN  CHIN  A 


delegates,  in  numljers  and  ability,  were  equal  to  foreign 
delegates.  Five  strong  commissions  were  appointed  to 
deal  with  subjects  relating  to  the  “Chinese  Church.”  The 
aljle  chairmen  of  two  of  the  commissions,  and  the  major- 
ity of  members  of  the  committees,  were  Chinese. 

Statistics  show  that  the  Protestant  Church  in  China 
has  a membership  of  approximately  375,000,  a four  fold 
increase  since  the  Boxer  uprising  in  1900.  In  addition 
to  the  church  memljership  there  is  a long 'list  of  native 
leaders  who  have  been  trained  in  the  six  thousand  Chris- 
tian schools,  ranging  from  the  primary  school  to  the  uni- 
\ersity,  and  a large  estimate  should  be  made  of  the  gen- 
eral influence  of  Christianity  among  all  classes  of  people. 
Dr.  Charles  R.  Erdman  who  attended  the  Shanghai  Con- 
ference, says;  “It  is  in  the  reports  of  such  a great  Con- 
ference as  this  which  met  in  Shanghai,  .that  one  who  de- 
sires a glimpse  at  missionary  enterprise  in  China  can  find 
a gateway  into  a field  of  remarkable  intei'est  and  import- 
ance. He  will  learn  that  six  thousand  men  and  women, 
from  distant  homes,  are  now  labouring  as  Christian  mis- 
sionaries in  this  one  land  of  the  Far  East,  and  that,  de- 
spite their  denominational  differences,  they  are  consciously 
one  in  their  purpose,  their  efforts  and  their  hopes.” 

“The  foreign  Protestant  forces,  notwithstanding  the 
deficiency  in  numbers  and  inadequacy  of  equipment,  ai'e 
organized  for  advance  along  all  lines  of  evangelical,  edu- 
cational and  medical  work.  The  Chinese  Church,  as  never 
before,  realizes  that  if  China  is  to  be  fully  evangelized 
it  must  be  accomplished  by  tbe  Chinese.  The  leaders  of 
the  native  church  feel  this  responsibility  and  are  plan- 
ning for  large  things  to  l)e  undertaken  by  a self-support- 
ing, self-propagating  church.  So  deeply  did  this  senti- 


IN  CHINA 


13 


merit  prevail  in  the  1922  National  Christian  Conference 
that  its  Chinese  president  fervently  exclaimed,  “This  is 
the  birthday  of  the  Chinese  Christian  Church.” 

Great  Need  and  Opportunity 

As  encouraging  as  are  the  results  of  missionary  work 
in  China  since  the  arrival  of  Morrison  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  years  ago,  there  remains  a great  need.  It 
will  require  all  the  energies  of  Protestant  Chri.stianity  to 
meet  this  need.  All  the  work  and  achievement  of  the 
past  are  only  a hopeful  beginning.  Three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  thousand  would  seem  a considerable  number 
of  members  of  churches  in  even  so  large  and  populous  a 
country  as  China,  hut  that  number  out  of  four  hundred 


CHINESE  PASTOR  AND  FAMILY 


14 


/ N C 1 1 1 N A 


million  is  less  than  one  Protestant  church  member  in  one 
thousand,  or  on  a percentage  basis,  less  than  one-half  of 
one  per  cent.  In  vast  unreached  areas,  including  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  rdllages,  in  the  great  walled 
cities  and  in  thickdy  populated  rural  districts  there  are 
unnumbered  millions  who  know  nothing  of  the  Savior  and 
are  without  the  blessings  of  the  accepted  Gospel  that  not 
only  saves  the  soul,  but  ministers  to  mind  and  body. 

The  need  is,  in  itself,  a great  opportunity.  It  is  a felt 
need  and  the  doors  are  open.  It  is  a door  that  can  be 
closed  by  a failure  to  enter.  Rev.  Egbert  W.  Smith,  D.D., 
in  speaking  of  conditions,  needs  and  missionary  oppor- 
tunities says : “The  conservatism  which  was  hoary  with 
unnumbered  centuries  when  our  oldest  modern  nation 
was  born,  is  today  shaken  to  its  center.  After  sixty 
years  of  losing  conflict  with  the  methods  of  modern  com- 
merce, modern  science,  modern  warfare,  modern  civiliza- 
tion, China  is  at  last  convinced  that  unless  she  learn  these 
modern  methods,  she  is  doomed  to  be  exploited,  robbed, 
tramped  upon,  and  perhaps  devoured  piecemeal. 

“With  this  harsh  outside  pressure  has  gone  another 
influence  exerted  from  within.  One  hundred  and  seven- 
teen years  of  Protestant  mission  work  in  China  has  built 
up  a strong  native  church.  It  has  permeated  the  vast 
mass  of  Chinese  society  with  some  knowledge  of  the  up- 
lift and  brotherhood  that  Christianity  represents.  And 
in  the  minds  of  multitudes  of  thoughtful  Chinese,  not  yet 
Christians,  it  has  wrought  the  conviction  that  the  secret 
of  individual  and  national  welfare,  the  key  of  China’s  fu- 
ture greatness,  is  held  not  in  the  dead  hand  of  her  ancient 
sages,  hut  in  the  living  hand  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God.” 


Chapter  11 


EARLY  DAYS 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
U.  S.  held  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  declared  “that 
the  carrying  out  of  the  great  command  of  our  Lord  was 
regarded  as  the  great  end  of  her  organization,  and  obe- 
dience to  it  as  the  indispensable  condition  of  her  Lord’s 
promised  presence.”  At  the  time  this  declaration  was 
made,  the  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions  was 
considering  the  opening  of  a mission  in  China. 

The  following  is  quoted  from  an  account  of  the  begin- 
ning of  our  foreign  work : “At  the  Southern  terminus  of 
the  Grand  Canal  of  China,  there  lies  a city  beautiful  for 
situation.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  populous  province  of 
Chekiang,  and  bears  a name  well  known  to  many  of  the 
churches  in  our  own  land — Hangchow.  On  one  side  of 
it  flows  the  broad  and  bright  Tsien-tang  River,  famous 
for  the  tidal  wave,  the  “bore”  which,  with  foaming  crest, 
and  roaring  sound,  rushes  up  from  Hangchow  Bay.  On 
the  other  side  is  the  picturesque  West  Lake,  its  islets 
crowned  with  tea  houses  and  pavillions,  and  Its  clear 
waters  reflecting  like  a mirror,  the  rocky  hills  and  gentle 
eminence  on  which  stands  the  Needle  Pagoda  and  the 
tower  of  the  Thunder  Peak.  The  city-  has  a wall  of 
wide  circuit,  faced  .with  hewn  stone,  and  broad  enough 
for  three  carriages  traveling  abreast.  The  streets  are 
narrow  and  not  very  clean.  The  houses  are  generally 
of  two  stories,  with  walls  stuccoed  white,  and  roofed 
with  tiles.  Besides  the  provincial  buildings,  the  city  con- 


16 


I N C HINA 


tained  the  great  examination  hall,  in  which  at  the  triennial 
examinations,  over  ten  thousand  students  competed  for 
the  second  literary  degree.  lie  fore  the  Taiping  War,  the 
population  of  Hangchow  was  estimated  at  one  million, 
it  was  taken  by  the  Taiping  rebels  twice,  with  great 
carnage,  and  has  since  been  gradually  making  up  its  loss. 
It  has  now  inside  and  outside  of  the  city  walls,  a popula- 
tion of  perhaps  eight  hundred  thousand.  In  this  city  was 
])lanted  the  first  foreign  mission  station  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  U.  S.” 

Our  Pioneer  Missionary 

The  pioneer  of  our  distinctly  foreign  missionary  work 
was  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Inslee.  Prior  to  the  Civil  War,  Mr. 
Inslee,  a member  of  the  Mississippi  Presbytery,  had  done 
good  ser\ice  as  a missionary  in  China  for  ten  years,  lo- 
cated at  Ningpo.  During  the  time  of  the  war,  he  sup- 
j)orted  himself  on  the  field.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
returned  home  and  in  1866  earnestly  solicited  our  South- 
ern Presbyterian  Church  to  send  him  to  China  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  a new  mission.  Those  who  knew  Mr.  In- 
slee personally  speak  of  him  as  a man  who  loved  the 
cause  of  his  Master  and  pitied  the  people  of  China.  He 
was  humble  and  kindly  in  service  and  the  peo])le  were 
attracted  to  him  as  a friend.  So  earnest  was  his  desire 
to  return  to  China  that  he  felt  that  he  had  heard  the  sum- 
mons of  God  to  begin  a work  in  that  field.  The  call  was 
not  unheeded  and  i\Ir.  Inslee  and  Iris  family  were  sent 
out  in  June,  1867.  Thus  began  our  first  foreign  mission- 
ary work  outside  of  America,  and  Hangchow  was  the 
first  mission  station  of  our  work  in  the  Chinese  Empire. 
Mr.  Inslee’s  decision  to  locate  at  Hangchow  was  a wise 


IN  CHINA 


17 


one.  No  better  point  of  entrance  could  have  been  selected. 
Until  his  arrival,  probably  no  missionary  had  ever  regu- 
larly preached  within  the  walls  of  the  city. 

Following  the  going  out  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Inslee,  a 
second  band  of  missionaries  was  sent  out  to  assist  our 
pioneer  missionary.  Rev.  J.  L.  Stuart,  Rev.  M.  H.  Hous- 
ton and  Rev.  Ben  Helm  were  sent  to  the  field  in  March, 
1868.  Rev.  George  W.  Painter  was  one  of  our  early 


REV.  E.  B.  INSLEE 

First  Foreign  Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  U.  S. 


18 


IN  CHINA 


missionaries  in  China.  From  this  comparatively  obscure 
Ijeginning  fifty-five  years  ago,  the  chain  of  stations  has 
lengthened  and  the  field  broadened  until  our  missions  in 
China  include  a territory  -extending  from  Hangchow  to 
Hsuchoufu,  over  five  hundred  miles  long,  and  from  the 
sea  to  the  Grand  Canal  and  beyond.  In  1899  a division 
of  this  great  field  was  made  by  which  the  IMid-Chlna 
Mission  includes  all  the  stations  south  of  the  Yangtze 
River  except  Chinkiang,  and  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission 
includes  Chinkiang  and  the  stations  north  of  the  Yangtze. 

In  considering  the  experiences  of  our  pioneer  mission- 
aries in  China  we  should  remember  the  long  and  tedious 
journey  from  the  home  land  to  the  field,  occupying  many 
weeks  and  sometimes  months  of  most  uncomfortable  sea 
travel.  The  immense  throngs  of  people  they  encountered 
in  cities,  villages  and  country  districts  must  have  almost 
overwhelmingly  impressed  them  with  the  magnitude  of 
their  task.  The  territory  of  our  missions  includes  the 
most  thickly  populated  section  of  China.  It  is  estimated 
that  two-thirds  of  the  four  hundred  million  people  of 
China  live  in  the  two  great  valleys  of  the  Yangtze  and 
Yellow  River. 

Conditions  Found  by  the  Pioneers 

The  pioneers  found  the  conditions  of  the  people  to  he 
extremes.  There  was  a wealthy  class,  comparatively 
small,  and  the  unnumbered  multitude  of  the  very  poor. 
There  was  a class  of  literati,  highly  educated  from  the 
Chinese  standpoint.  From  this  scholar  class  came  all 
the  higher  officials  in  the,  at  that  time.  Empire.  At  the 
other  e.xtreme  the  jreople  were  ignorant  and  superstitious 
beyond  description.  The  walled  cities  were  generally 
inaccessible  to  foreigners.  The  few  exceptions  were  cities 


I N C II I N A 


19 


open  to  foreigners  under  treaties  with  foreign  govern- 
ments. 

Heathenism  of  various  kinds  dominated  all  the  people 
including  the  higher,  middle  and  lower  classes.  The 
missionary  with  his  message  of  peace  was  unwelcome, 
and  in  a number  of  fields  that  have  been  opened,  the 
opi)osition  was  so  violent  as  to  endanger  the  lives  of  our 
pioneer  missionaries. 

Diseases  of  all  kinds,  from  the  ordinary  sickness  to 
the  most  loathsome  leprosy,  were  prevalent  without  proper 
medical  attention.  The  Chinese  doctor  would  treat  the 
superstitious  Chinese  patient  by  most  cruel  methods,  such 
as  inserting  a needle  into  the  flesh  that  the  evil  spirit 
causing  the  sickness  might  be  driven  out.  The  efficient 
services  of  the  missionary  doctor  and  trained  nurse  were 
unknown.  There  were  no  hospitals  and  dispensaries  in 
the  entire  field  where  the  missionary  physician  and  nurse 
could  minister  to  both  soul  and  body. 

There  was  no  practical  system  of  education  for  the 
masses  of  ignorant  and  superstitious  people.  Dense  ignor- 
ance and  gross  superstitions  went  hand  in  hand.  In- 
fanticide was  commonly  prevalent  in  the  killing  of  girl 
babies.  Space  does  not  permit  further  details  hut  enough 
has  been  said  to  give  a practical  understanding  of  the 
enormous  and  seemingly  impossible  task  facing  our  first 
missionaries  in  China  as  they  began  the  missionary  cam- 
paign among  the  eighteen  million  Chinese  adjacent  to  the 
Grand  Canal  for  five  hundred  miles.  The  pioneers,  and 
the  missionaries  who  have  followed  them,  went  out  at  the 
command  and  under  the  promise  of  their  Lord,  confi- 
dent of  final  victory.  How,  and  how  well  they  have 
succeeded  will  l)e  briefly  told  in  the  following  chapters. 


Chapter  III 


A TRAVEL  SURVEY 

South  of  Yangtze  River 

A brief  survey  in  the  form  of  an  imaginary  travel  sketch 
to  all  our  principal  mission  stations  in  China,  using  the 
map  as  a guide,  will  give  general  information  as  to  the 
location,  extent,  and  importance  of  our  share  of  territory 
and  population  in  the  evangelization  of  China. 

The  ocean  voyage  from  the  homeland  ends  at  Shang- 
hai, a city  that  has  grown  from  a fishing  village  about  a 
thousand  years  ago,  to  a port  of  world-wide  importance 
with  a native  population  of  over  a million.  Shanghai  is 
“the  national  headquarters  of  missionary  work,  the  chief 
seat  of  commerce,  the  home  of  progress,  in  short,  the 
nerve  center  of  China  whose  influence  reaches  out  to  the 
remotest  corner  of  the  land.” 

We  begin  with  a journey  to  Hangchow,  a large  city 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  southwest  of  Shang- 
hai. In  the  early  days,  the  t’dp  was  made  by  houseljoat, 
requiring  a week  or  more,  usually  under  most  uncomfort- 
able travel  conditions.  Later  canal  boats  towed  by  steam 
launches  were  used,  lessening  the  time  and  discomforts 
of  the  trip.  In  recent  years  a good  railroad  has  been  con- 
structed by  the  Chinese,  eiial)ling  the  traveler  to  go  from 
Shanghai  to  Hangchow  in  a few  hours. 

The  cities  to  be  visited  in  our  imaginary  tour  include 
all  the  main  mission  stations  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 


9? 


1 N C U I N A 


LI.  S.,  south  of  the  Yangtze  River.  Hangchow  and  Kash- 
ing  are  located  in  the  northwest  portion  of  Chekiang 
Province,  the  smallest  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China 
proper.  It  is  a pro\  ince  of  great  historic  and  antiquarian 
interest.  The  scenery  is  a comhination  of  mountain  and 
plain.  The  dense  population  supplies  a field  for  the  most 
aggressive  missionary  service. 

Shanghai,  Soochow,  Kiangyin,  Chinkiang  and  Nan- 
king are  in  that  part  of  Kiangsu  Province  south  of  the 
Yangtze  River.  Of  this  part  of  China  it  has  been  said 
that  no  country  in  the  world  is  so  well  watered,  and  it 
would  he  difficult  to  find  anywhere  a territory  as  rich 
and  fertile  and  as  densely  populated. 

Kashing,  counting  the  stations  going  north,  the  second 
of  our  mission  stations  along  the  Grand  Canal,  is  sixty 
miles  from  Hangchow.  The  journey  can  be  made  by 
canal,  or  better,  by  rail  on  the  Shanghai  and  Hangchow 
Railway. 

Our  map  survey  will  take  us  to  Soochow.  By  canal 
the  distance  is  sixty  miles  from  Kashing.  The  journey 
can  he  made  by  rail  to  Shanghai,  thence  to  Soochow  on 
the  Shanghai  and  Nanking  Railway. 

Continuing  our  journey  by  rail  to  Wusih,  an  important 
city,  we  leave  the  Grand  Canal  and  the  railroad  and  go 
by  houseboat  about  thirty  miles  in  a northeast  direction 
on  a large  branch  c-anal  to  Kiangyin,  located  on  the 
^Hngtze  River  about  halfway  between  Shanghai  and 
Nanking. 

Returning  to  Wusih  we  continue  our  journey  by  rail  to 
Chinkiang,  located  on  the  south  hank  of  the  Yangtze 
River  about  one  hundred  fifty  miles  by  rail  from  Shang- 
hai. 


IN  CHINA 


23 


Nanking,  situated  on  the  Yangtze  River,  al)out  forty 
miles  of  Chinkiang,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Ming  dynasty 
and  a city  of  great  historical  interest,  is  reached  via  the 
Shanghai  and  Nanking  Railway. 

North  of  the  Yangtze  River 

Our  field  survey  takes  us  to  our  station  cities  north 
of  the  Yangtze  River.  We  travel  in  a canal  boat,  more 
or  less  comfortable,  according  to  the  number  of  passengers 
and  the  condition  of  the  weather.  Entering  the  Grand 
Canal  on  the  north  side  of  the  Yangtze  River,  we  con- 
tinue a most  interesting  journey.  Villages,  towns,  cities, 
large  and  small,  are  passed.  The  canal  is  crowded  with 
thousands  of  canal  boats,  some  of  them  for  passengers, 
others  with  cargoes  of  freight.  The  boats  are  towed  by 
men  as  the  old-time  canal  boats  in  our  country  were 


CHINESE  FARM  HOUSE,  THRESHING  GRAIN 


24 


IN  CHIN  A 


drawn  by  animals  along  the  tow-path.  It  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  to  our  first  destination,  and  the  time 
occupied  in  the  journey  hy  steam  launches  varies  from 
twenty-four  to  thirty  hours — sometimes  longer.  This 
is  a speedy  trip  compared  with  the  time  required  in  the 
days  before  steam  launches.  In  due  time  we  arrive  at 
the  city  of  Hwaianfu,  the  first  of  our  mission  stations 
on  the  Canal  north  of  the  Yangtze.  On  this  canal  voyage 
we  have  passed  by  three  large  walled  cities,  only  one  of 
which  is  occupied  by  missionary  workers.  The  steam 
launch,  with  its  tow  for  canal  boats,  will  proceed  to 
Tsingkiangpu,  but  as  visitors  to  our  mission  fields,  it  is 
probable  we  will  be  met  at  Hwaianfu  by  a company  of 
missionaries  in  the  little  launch,  the  Marian  Sprunt,  a 
gift  of  Mr.  James  Sprunt,  of  Wilmington,  North  Car- 
olina as  a memorial  to  his  daughter,  Marian.  A speedy 
and  comfortable  passage  is  made  to  Tsingkiangpu,  ten 
miles  to  the  north  of  Hwaianfu. 

Tsingkiangpu  is  as  far  to  the  north  on  the  Canal  as 
the  larger  canal  boats,  drawn  by  steam  launches,  can  go. 
We  must  here  engage  a houseboat  which,  by  sail,  row- 
ing, or  being  towed  by  men  along  the  canal,  will  convey 
us  on  our  journey  northward.  Near  this  city  there  are 
several  locks  in  the  canal,  and  time  will  be  saved  by 
sending  the  boat  ahead  and  making  a short  journey  by 
wheelbarrow  to  a village  and  general  landing  place  beyond 
the  locks.  As  we  proceed  on  our  journey  we  have  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  poverty  of  the  people  and  their 
terrible  experiences  in  the  famine  region.  The  boat  will 
sometimes  make  .such  slow  progress  that  we  may  walk 
along  the  shores  in  advance  and  hold  brief  meetings  with 
the  people  in  the  villages.  We  soon  cease  to  be  surprised 


IN  CHINA 


25 


to  find  they  are  not  only  poor  and  ignorant  in  things  of 
this  life,  but  are  in  poverty  and  ignorance  concerning 
things  spiritual  to  such  degree  that  they  have  never  even 
so  much  as  heard  the  name  of  Jesus. 

Sixty  miles  from  Tsingkiangpu,  we  arrive  at  the  city 
of  Sutsien,  the  third  of  our  mission  stations  north  of  the 
Yangtze.  The  trip  from  Tsingkdangpu  to  Sutsien  can 
be  made  by  Chinese  cart,  the  road  much  of  the  way  being 
along  the  hanks  of  the  Grand  Canal,  or  on  the  old  Yellow 
River  embankments  that  in  ancient  and  modern  times 
were  built  to  control  the  floods  of  this  “River  of  Sorrow'’ 
before  its  channel  was  turned  farther  north. 

We  continue  our  journey  from  Sutsien  in  a north- 
westerly direction  to  Hsuchoufu.  The  Chinese  cart,  a 
heavy  lumbering  vehicle,  without  springs,  drawn  by  two 
mules  driven  tandem,  is  to  be  our  conveyance.  We  are 
traveling  over  the  wide  plain  which  was  once  the  bed 
and  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  River.  Unless  we  make 
especially  good  speed  it  requires  about  two  days  and  halt 
to  cover  the  eighty  miles  from  Sutsien  to  Hsuchoufu.  The 
missionaries  will  have  provided  food  and  bedding.  We 
stop  for  dinner  at  some  convenient  town,  and  spend  the 
night  in  the  crude  Chinese  inn.  As  we  near  the  city 
of  Hsuchoufu,  the  country  is  more  broken,  and  in  the 
distance  there  are  ranges  of  high  hills  or  low  mountains. 
We  pass  along  a wall  built  in  the  centuries  past,  through 
the  gate  of  a second  wall  built  around  these  cities  of  the 
north,  then  through  the  main  wall,  and  enter  the  city. 
Hsuchoufu  can  also  be  reached  by  railway  on  a main  line 
running  from  Nanking  to  Peking. 

In  a further  travel  survey  of  the  stations  in  Noi*th^ 
Kiangsu  we  will  again  start  from  Chinkiang.  Our  first 


26 


IN  CHINA 


Nisit  will  be  to  Taichow.  Crossing  the  Yangtze  from 
Chinkiang,  we  enter  one  of  the  well-nigh  innumerable 
canals  that  supply  the  means  of  communication,  and 
proceed  by  houseboat  to  Taichow,  a city  about  fifty  miles 
to  the  north  of  Chinkiang,  and  about  the  same  distance 
east  of  the  Grand  Canal. 

The  next  in  the  chain  of  stations  between  the  Grand 
Canal  and  the  Yellow  Sea,  extending  northward,  is  the 
city  of  Yencheng.  Its  location  is  about  sixty  miles  north 
of  Taichow  and  about  eighty  miles  east  of  Hwaianfu. 
The  usual  routes  followed  in  going  from  stations  north 
of  Chinkiang  to  Yencheng  is  from  Hwaianfu  and  Tsing- 
kiangpu  by  canals. 

Our  next  and  last  station  in  North  Kiangsu  is  Haichow. 
The  visitor  to  this  city  will  leave  the  Grand  Canal  at 
Tsingkiangpu  and  make  the  quickest  journey  by  Chinese 
cart.  The  trip  can  also  be  made  by  canal  or  on  a wheel- 
barrow. Haichow  may  also  be  reached  in  about  the  same 
length  of  time,  three  days,  by  Chinese  cart  or  in  an  in- 
definite period  of  time  by  canal,  or  barrow,  from  Sutsien. 

By  reference  to  the  map  the  reader  will  see  the  large 
stretch  of  territory  included  in  this  rapid  survey.  We 
have  traveled  from  Hangchow  in  the  south  to  Hsuchoufu 
and  Haichow  in  the  north  “a  blue  line  of  missions”  over 
five  hundred  miles  in  length.  The  width  of  the  field, 
east  and  west,  is  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  miles 
west  of  the  Grand  Canal  to  the  Yellow  Sea  on  the  east. 
No  section  of  China  ofifers  a larger,  more  important,  and 
inviting  field  for  missionary  occupation. 


Chapter  IV 


MID-CHINA  MISSION  STATIONS 

The  stations  of  our  Mid-China  Mission  are  situated 
along  and  near  the  Grand  Canal,  an  artificial  stream  that 
reflects  greater  credit  on  the  men  who  devised  and  con- 
structed it  than  even  the  building  of  the  great  wall  of 
China.  The  importance  of  the  canal  to  the  whole  country 
is  an  indication  of  its  importance  in  the  establishment 
and  development  of  our  mission  stations  in  China.  The 
Grand  Canal  and  the  almost  innumerable  small  branch 
canals  have  been  utilized  l)y  missionaries  from  the  earliest 
days  in  the  evangelization  of  China. 

The  principal  stations  of  our  Mid-China  Mission  are 
Hangchow,  Soochow,  Kashing,  Kiangyin,  and  Nanking. 

HANGCHOW,  OUR  FIRST  STATION 

Hangchow,  opened  in  1867  is  the  capital  of  Che- 
kiang Province,  is  situated  on  the  Grand  Canal  with  a 
latitude  the  same  as  New  Orleans  and  the  climate  is  about 
the  same  but  with  greater  extremes  of  temperature.  It 
is  a great  commercial  and  educational  center  and  from  a 
Chinese  standpoint,  a well  built  city.  There  are  extensive 
manufactures  of  silk,  tobacco  and  fans.  The  estimated 
population  is  about  800,000.  Hangchow  is  one  of  the 
eighteen  provincial  capitals.  In  1200  A.D.  it  was  the 
capital  of  the  Chinese  Empire.  It  is  the  largest  city  in 
which  we  have  a mission  in  China  and  the  largest  in  any 


28 


IN  CHINA 


of  our  mission  fields.  It  is  a great  non-Christian  religi- 
ous center  to  which  many  thousands  of  pilgrims  go  every 
year  to  visit  the  numerous  and  remarkable  heathen  tem- 
ples. 

Early  Days  at  Hangchow 

.A.  full  account  of  the  work  at  Hangchow  would  in- 
clude much  of  the  early  history  of  our  foreign  mission 
work.  The  men  and  women  who  opened  the  work  in 
the  Hangchow  field  were  our  veteran  missionaries.  The 
hardships  of  the  outward  journey  and  the  trials  on  the 
field  far  e.xceeded  those  of  the  present  day.  Soon  after 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Inslee,  the  health  of  Mr. 
Inslee  began  to  decline.  Repeated  changes  of  climate 
in  China  failed  to  bring  relief  and  he  returned  to  the 
United  States,  with  his  family,  in  the  fall  of  1870,  and  in 
the  following  spring,  (1871)  he  died  in  New  Orleans. 
In  the  service  of  his  Master,  J\Ir.  Inslee  had  freely  spent 


STUART  MEMORIAL  CHURCH,  HANGCHOW 
A Memorial  to  Rev.  J.  C.  Stuart. 


IN  CHINA 


29 


all  of  his  patrimony,  and  in  his  last  moments  he  com- 
mended his  family,  a wife  and  seven  children,  to  “God 
and  the  Church.”  His  trust  was  not  in  vain  as  a fund 
was  raised  for  the  support  of  his  family.  The  failing 
health  of  other  missionaries  reduced  the  force  until  one 
missionary,  Mr.  Houston,  had  the  care  of  the  two  hoard- 
ing schools  and  all  the  general  services  of  the  station. 

The  early  reports  also  tell  of  brightening  prospects. 
'Fhe  mission  was  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  H.  C.  DuBose  and  Mrs.  Annie  Randolph.  Mrs. 
Randolph  at  once  took  charge  of  the  girls’  boarding 
school  which  greatly  prospered  under  her  efficient  man- 
agement until  failing  health  forced  her  to  give  up  the 
work.  Mrs.  Randolph  went  to  Japan  where  she  was  able 
(o  continue  in  missionary  service  until  1892  when  her 
health  compelled  her  permanent  retirement  and  she  re- 
luctantly returned  to  the  homeland.  Much  interesting- 
history  and  personal  mention  cannot  he  given  in  as 
brief  sketches  as  a small  book  is  expected  to  contain. 

Equipment  and  Union  Schools 

The  equipment  in  Hangchow  consists  of  missionary 
residences  and  a chapel  for  a fully  organized  and  self- 
supporting-  church.  In  the  early  days,  separate  schools 
for  hoys  and  girls  were  organized  by  Mr.  Inslee.  Owing 
to  lack  of  equipment  and  teachers,  the  school  for  boys 
was  discontinued  for  a time,  and  is  now  merged  into 
the  Union  Christian  College.  Our  principal  educational 
work  in  Hangchow  has  been  the  Hangchow  Girls’  School. 
During-  its  history  of  over  fifty  years,  the  school  has  been 
the  pride  of  the  mission.  It  was  our  first  school  for 
girls  on  the  foreign  field  and  has  been  recognized  as  one 


30 


/ N C II I N .-I 


of  the  first  important  schools  established  for  girls  in  the 
then  Chinese  Empire.  The  girls  going  out  from  this 
school  are  found  in  almost  every  department  of  service. 
They  are  wives  of  evangelists,  Bible  women,  teachers  in 
Christian  schools  and  wives  and  mothers  in  Christian 
homes.  The  first  Young  YTmen’s  Christian  Association 
in  China  was  organized  in  this:  school.  Following  the 
principle  of  consolidation  of  schools  of  higher  grade, 
the  girls’  schools  of  the  Presbyterian  Churches,  U.  S., 
and  U.  S.  A.,  and  the  Northern  Baptist  Mission  were 
consolidated  under  the  name  of  Hangchow  Union  Girls' 
School.  This  is  now  a prosperous  institution  doing  a high 
grade  of  work  for  girls. 

The  Union  Christian  College,  under  the  control  and 
jointly  supix)rted  by  the  Presbyterian  Churches,  LT.  S. 
and  U.  S.  A.,  is  located  a few  miles  from  the  center  of 
the  city  of  Hangchow.  The  buildings  erected  and  in 
process  of  erection  are  located  on  a hill  overlooking  the 
Tsien  Tang  (Hangchow)  River.  This  College  is  the 
only  institution  of  its  class  for  boys  in  the  Province  of 
Chekiang  among  fifteen  million  people.  The  educational 
])olicy  by  which  the  Presbyterian  schools  of  Hangchow 
and  other  points  in  the  Mid-China  Mission  have  been  or- 
ganized provides  a regular  course  from  the  primary 
schools  to  the  college.  The  location  of  the  two  union 
schools  in  Hangchow,  when  thoroughly  equipped,  will  be 
“the  capstone  of  our  Presbyterian  educational  system  in 
this  part  of  China.” 

In  a section  of  the  city  some  distance  from  the  mis- 
sion compound,  the  Stuart  Memorial  Church  has  been  or- 
ganized with  a good  church  building.  At  another  point 
in  the  city  there  is  a chapel  where  good  work  has  been 


IN  CHINA 


31 


done,  including  evangelistic  and  Bible  work,  a day  school 
and  a clinic  which  for  many  years  was  in  charge  of  Miss 
E.  B.  French. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Hasigchow  there  is  an  extensive  coun- 
try field  in  which  there  is  a large  country  population  in 
\’illages  and  on  farms  where  out-station  work  is  systemat- 
ically conducted.  For  many  years  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  L. 
Stuart  had  charge  of  a remarkable  work  in  the  Tehtsing 
district,  aliout  thirty  miles  from  Hangchow.  In  an  early 
report  it  is  mentioned  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuart,  going 
out  in  a houseboat,  spent  thirty-four  days  visiting  sixty- 
four  places  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  families  of 
Christians  and  inquirers.  A number  of  churches  have 
been  organized  in  the  Hangchow  out-station  field  under  the 
direction  of  missionaries  assigned  by  the  mission,  and 
Chinese  preachers  and  teachers. 

Statistics.  The  following  statistics  are  condensed 
from  last  Annual  Report  ( 1923)  : Organized  congregations 
13  with  a membership  of  729  and  a Christian  constituency 
of  929;  other  places  of  worship,  5;  out-stations,  15;  Sab- 
bath schools,  19  with  a membership  of  854;  9 schools 
with  207  students;  foreign  force,  15;  Chinese  workers,  4. 

SOOCHOW 

SoocHOw,  an  important  center,  the  capitol  of  Kiangsu 
Province,  on  the  Grand  Canal,  aliout  120  miles  north  of 
Hangchow  and  fifty-four  miles  west  of  Shanghai  on  the 
Shanghai  and  Nanking  railway,  is  a city  famous  for  its 
literary  men,  beautiful  gardens,  public  buildings  and  all 
kinds  of  artistic  Chinese  manufactures,  with  a population 
of  500,000.  Soochow  has  been  called  “The  Paris  of 
China.’’  On  account  of  its  numerous  lakes  and  canals 


32 


IN  CHINA 


surrounded  by  beautiful  plains,  it  has  also  been  called 
“The  Venice  of  China.”  The  city  was  founded  during 
the  life  of  Confucius,  B.C.  500.  It  is  about  four  miles  in 
length  north  to  south,  and  nearly  three  miles  in  breadth. 

. The  wall  around  the  city  is  about  thirteen  miles  in  length. 
Of  the  seven  pagodas  seen  in  and  around  the  city  the 
Great  Pagoda  is  the  highest  in  China.  The  Tiger  Hill 
Pagoda,  the  leaning  tower  of  Soochow,  is  1300  years  old. 

The  Work  Opened 

Soochow  was  opened  in  1872.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  H.  C. 
DuBose,  were  among  our  earliest  missionaries  in  the 
Soochow  field.  Dr.  DuBose,  by  his  preaching,  his  literary 
work  including  a large  number  of  religious  works  in  the 
Chinese  language  and  his  leadership  in  the  anti-opium 
movement,  made  a profound  impression  on  the  people 
of  China.  He  died  in  March,  1910.  There  are  two 
centers  from  which  work  is  being  conducted  in  the  Soo- 
chow field.  The  older  being  South  Soochow,  located  in 
the  heart  of  the  city  where  there  are  two  missionary  homes 
and  a chapel.  The  evangelistic  services  from  this  center 
include  services  in  the  chapel  and  an  extensive  out-station 
field  which  is  made  easily  accessible  by  houseboat  and 
motor  boat  along  the  numerous  canals  radiating  from 
the  city.  The  outstanding  need  of  the  Soochow  city  work 
has  been  a church  building  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  the  near 
future  plans  for  securing  an  adequate  fund  to  erect  a 
DuBose  Memorial  Church  will  be  successful. 

Elizabeth  Blake  Hospital 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Soochow  work,  a dispensary 
was  conducted  in  the  home  of  one  of  the  missionaries. 
In  1897  this  dispensary  was  moved  to  a location  outside 


IN  CHINA 


33 


the  city  walls,  and  work  was  opened  in  North  Soochow. 
In  this  second  center  in  Soochow,  we  have  an  excellent 
property  on  which  are  located  a number  of  missionary 
residences,  a good  stone  church  building,  the  George  C. 
Smith  Memorial  School  for  Girls,  and  the  buildings  of  the 
Elizabeth  Blake  Hospital.  The  experiences  leading  up 
to  the  establishment  of  this  hospital  are  a very  interest- 
ing part  of  the  history  of  our  work  in  Soochow,  and  of 
our  hospital  work  in  all  our  mission  fields,  as  it  was  th6 
first  hospital  established  in  our  foreign  field.  Prof,  and 
Mrs.  J.  R.  Blake  of  South  Carolina,  considering  where 
they  might  make  an  investment  yielding  the  largest  re- 
turns in  religious  dividends,  established  the  Elizabeth 
Blake  Hospital  on  a site  that,  after  considerable  delay,  was 
obtained  outside  the  North  Soochow  Gate  in  1896.  In 
connection  with  the  hospital  there  is  a,  department  foi 
the  insane.  Instruction  is  given  to  medical  students  and 
nurses.  All  of  the  hospital  buildings  are  of  brick.  The 
canal  passes  the  hospital  and  the  entire  water  front  lying 
in  front  of  the  hospital  belongs  to  the  mission.  The 
recent  erection  of  two  new  buildings,  increasing  the  total 
number  to  seven,  will  greatly  increase  the  efficiency  of 
the  work,  not  only  in  the  hospital,  but  in  supplying  neces- 
sary room  for  the  medical  and  nurses  training  depart- 
ments. 

The  School  for  Girls 

Our  girls  school  is  the  out-growth  of  the  Sibley  Home 
and  School  for  Girls  following  upon  the  early  work  of 
Miss  Anne  Safford  and  continued  by  the  self-denying 
labors  of  Miss  Elizabeth  Flemming.  The  present  ade- 
quate building  was  erected  by  Mrs.  George  C.  Smith  as 
a memorial  to  her  husband.  The  course  of  study  has 

— 3“ 


34 


IN  CHINA 


been  steadily  advanced  until  the  missionary  and  Chinese 
teachers  now  have  in  sight  a full  high  school  course.  A 
deep  spiritual  interest  prevails  among  the  students  and 
teachers. 

A large  section  of  country  is  accessible  to  Soochow 
by  means  of  many  canals  which  intersect  the  fertile  plain 
in  every  direction.  It  is  estimated  that  within  a radius 
of  twenty  miles  there  is  a jxipulation  of  a million  people. 
Preaching  points,  with  chapels,  have  been  opened  in  a 
number  of  large  market  towns.  As  in  all  out-station  fields 
it  is  said  of  Soochow,  “the  work”  is  large  and  successful. 

Statistics.  In  the  Soochow  field  there  are  five  or- 
ganized congregations  and  tenj  other  places  of  worship 
with  414  communicants  and  a Christian  constituency  of 
665.  There  are  12  out-stations;  7 Sabbath  schools  rep- 
resenting a membership  of  500 ; five  days  schools  with 
223  students;  foreign  workers,  17;  Chinese  workers,  15; 
hospital  in-patients,  465,  and  1759  in  the  clinic. 

KASHING 

Kashing,  opened  in  1895,  is  one  of  the  eleven  pre- 
fectures of  Chekiang  Province.  The  city  walls  were  built 
about  the  year  897,  A.D.,  upon  a site  of  some  repute  from 
feudal  times.  Situated  on  the  Grand  Canal  nearly  mid- 
way between  Hangchow  and  Soochow,  it  marks  the  high- 
est reach  of  tidewater  from  Shanghai.  Canals  connect 
with  the  bay  ports  on  the  south,  and  with  the  mountains 
on  the  west.  The  Shanghai  and  Nanking  and  the  Shang- 
hai and  Hangchow  railways  give  easy  communication  to 
Hangchow  in  the  South  and,  via  Shanghai,  to  the  north 
and  west. 

Kashing  is  noted  for  its  great  scholars,  superior  fruits. 


IN  CHINA 


35 


excellent  rice,  salt-fish  market,  brick,  tiles,  and  durable 
brass  work.  The  city  abounds  with  Confucian,  Buddhist 
and  Taoist  temples.  A careful  estimate,  based  upon  a 
last  census  taken  with  reference  to  immigration  and  birth 
rate,  fixes  the  population  for  the  city  and  suburbs  at 
100,000  and  for  the  department,  including  the  city,  2,- 
000,000. 

How  Entrance  was  Effected  , 

The  entrance  of  the  gospel  into  Kashing  required  a 
long  siege.  For  over  thirty  years  representatives  of  dif- 
ferent missions  in  China  had  endeavored  to  enter  the  city 
without  success.  In  1892  the  best  that  our  missionaides 
could  do  was  to  get  a foothold  in  Sinchang,  a town  nine 
miles  distant.  By  that  kind  of  patient  and  tactful  effort, 
combined  with  continued  prayer,  known  only  to  the  pioneer 
missionary,  entrance  was  finally  gained  to  the  city  in 


A MISSIONARY  HOUSEBOAT  PROPELLED  BY  SAIL 
OR  ROWING 


36 


IN  CHINA 


1895.  The  door  by  which  the  entrance  was  gained  was 
the  medical  work.  The  first  place  to  be  occupied  was  a 
small  room  for  a dispensary.  Healing  and  preaching 
went  on  together  until  a group  of  believers  was  formed 
and  soon  property  was  secured  for  a chapel,  hospital, 
school  and  missionary  residences.  When  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries first  entered  the  north  gate  at  Kashing  and 
paused  at  a shop  within  the  gate  to  offer  a tract  to.  a 
man  at  the  door,  he  was  met  with  a look  of  unutterable 
contempt.  Within  that  same  north  gate  there  is  a fine 
com]iound  on  which  has  been  erected  dwellings  for  the 
missionaries,  hospital  buildings,  and  school  buildings. 

Kashing  Schools 

The  Kashing  High  School,  originally  called  the  Axon 
Memorial  School,  began,  as  nearly  all  mission  schools 
begin,  with  the  smaller  boys  and  a very  elementary  course 
of  study.  Under  the  excellent  administration  of  mission- 
ary teachers,  the  standards  of  the  school  have  been 
steadily  raised  until  now  its  graduates  are  qualified  to 
enter  the  missionary  colleges.  One  cannot  visit  this  school 
without  becoming  conscious  of  the  spiritual  atmosphere 
pervading  the  entire  work.  By  the  wise  purchase  of  land, 
a splendid  location  adjoining  the  station  compound  was 
secured  for  the  school  buildings.  The  Kashing  High 
School,  with  over  300  students,  is  our  largest  school  in 
China.  Its  popularity  is  shown  in  the  application  of  240 
hoys  for  admission  of  whom  only  .eighty  could  he  received 
on  account  of  lack  of  room.  The  Educational  Commis- 
sion that  went  over  China  makfng  an  examination  of 
schools  of  all  grades  gave  the  highest  praise  to  the  spirit 
and  methods  of  our  Kashing  schools.  When  people  ask 
“Where  do  you  get  your  school  spirit?’’  the  answer  is 


IN  CHINA 


37 


“From  Christ’s  living,  vital  power  and  presence  in  our 
school  family.”  This  answer  is  applicable  to  all  our  mis- 
sionary schools. 

The  Kashing  Christian  Institute  is  a progressive  iorm 
of  institutional  church  work  which  has  proven  very  popu- 
lar. In  a recently  erected  building,  gospel  preaching, 
reading  and  recreation  rooms,  a book  room  and  night 
classes  are  maintained. 

A school  for  girls  conducted  under  many  disadvan- 
tageous circumstances  has  been  an  evangelistic  agency 
through  which  mothers  in  Chinese  homes  have  been 
reached.  There  is  a strong  demand  and  an  excellent  field 
for  a well  equipped  girls’  school  of  high  school  grade  at 
Kashing. 

The  Kashing  Hospital 

The  hospital  at  Kashing  has  been  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  successful  lines  of  missionary  activity  from 
the  very  beginning  of  the  work.  There  is  an  inadequacy 
of  buildings  and  facilities,  but  notwithstanding  these 
limitations,  many  thousands  of  patients  are  treated  in  the 
daily  clinic,  and  many  hundreds,  as  hospital  in-patients, 
receive  treatment  for  more  serious  ailments.  The  medi- 
cal work  at  Kashing  has  a deserved  wide  reputation.  A 
number  of  Chinese  men  and  women  have  been  trained 
for  hospital  work,  among  them  well  qualified  physicians 
and  nurses.  The  evangelistic  side  of  the  medical  work, 
as  in  all  other  of  our  station  hospitals,  is  never  subordi- 
nated to  the  physical  welfare  of  the  patients.  While  the 
people  wait  for  their  turn  to  be  admitted  to  the  exami- 
nation room,  they  are  gathered  in  the  chapel  and  the 
gospel  is  faithfully  preached  to  them  by  the  Chinese  ev- 
angelists and  the  missionaries.  Many,  as  in  all  mission 


38 


IN  CHINA 


hospitals,  who  have  gone  to  the  hospital  for  the  healing' 
of  the  body  only,  have  gone  away  with  spiritual  healing 
to  “tell  their  friends  what  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done 
for  them.”  The  B.  M.  Palmer  Memorial  building  is  an 
appreciated  addition  to  the  hospital  equipment. 

The  Out-Station  Field 

The  out-station  fields  occupy  a place  second  only  to  that 
of  the  central  station.  In  a brief  account  of  our  work 
in  China  it  is  not  possible  to  give  details  of  the  splendid 
work  and  encouraging  results  of  our  missionaries  who 
have  the  general  direction  of  this  work  in  the  villages, 
many  of  them  large  towns,  and  country  districts  near  the 
main  stations.  A highly  successful  work  has  been  in 
progress  for  many  years  in  the  Kashing  field.  Churches 
have  been  organized,  buildings  erected,  village  schools 
established  and  qualified  Chinese  pastors  working  under 
the  direction  of  the  Chinese  Presbytery,  are  placed  in 
charge  as  rapidly  as  the  “way  is  clear.”  The  development 
and  general  care  of  the  out-station  field  requires  a mis- 
sionary of  ability  and  experience  and  who  has  the  physi- 
cal and  spiritual  qualifications  for  hard  service. 

Statistics.  The  last  statistical  report  shows  that  in 
the  Kashing  field  there  are  14  organized  congregations, 
with  1070  members:  14  out-stations:  a foreign  force  of 
17  and  a Chinese  force  of  24;  a Christian  constituency 
of  1628;  13  Sabbath  schools  with  1088  members;  10 
schools  of  all  grades  with  663  students.  In  the  hospital 
there  are  2 missionary  and  4 Chinese  physicians  and  5 
medical  assistants.  In  the  8 hospital  buildings  and  2 dis- 
jiensaries  there  were  18,361  individuals  treated  and  50,424 
treatments  given ; additions  to  the  churches,  102. 


IN  CHINA 


30 


KIANGYIN 

Kiangyin,  opened  in  1895,  is  a city  of  some  forty- 
live  thousand  population,  located  near  the  southern  bank 
of  the  Yangtze  River  about  half  way  between  Chinkiang 
and  Shanghai.  It  is  some  thirty  miles  from  the  Grand 
Canal.  Its  military  importance,  including  the  historic 
fortifications  guarding  the  Yangtze  River,  and  its  loca- 
tion in  the  center  of  one  of  the  most  densely  populated 
portions  of  China  make  it  a missionary  center  of  great 
importance. 

The  Kiangyin  field  conprising  the  magistracy  of  Kiang- 
yin  is  roughly  rectangular  in  form,  about  thirty  by  fifteen 
miles  in  extent.  The  total  population  is  considerably  over 
half  a million.  It  is  a rich  agricultural  section  with  a dense 
rural  population  distributed  among  numerous  villages  and 
small  towns.  A recent  census  shows  fifty-two  market 
towns  and  forty-five  villages  in  the  magistracy. 

Difficulty  in  Opening  the  Work 

The  first  attempt  to  organize  a Protestant  work  at 
Kiangyin  was  made  in  the  spring  of  1894.  A beginning 
was  made  by  renting  a native  house  on  a small  piece  of 
land  outside  the  east  gate  of  the  city.  The  gentry,  assisted 
liy  the  magistrate,  made  every  effort  to  stop  the  work. 
The  opposition  culminated  in  a riot  gotten  up  by  the  gentry 
which  was  attended  liy  the  secretary  of  the  magistrate  who 
was  present  to  see  that  no  violence  was  done  the  mission- 
aries provided  they  would  leave  the  place.  Under  the 
circumstances  the  missionaries  were  compelled  to  tem- 
porarily abandon  the  station. 

In  the  spring  of  1895  a second  effort  was  made  to  open 
a station  at  Kiangyin.  When  the  missionaries  presented 


40 


IN  CHINA 


themselves  at  the  door  of  the  yamen  of  the  magistrate 
they  were  compelled  to  wait  for  two  hours  and  a half  be- 
fore they  were  granted  an  audience.  A letter  from  the 
American  Counsul  was  given  the  magistrate  who  read  it 
in  a most  prefunctory  manner,  and  looking  up,  his  face 
expressing  hatred  and  contempt,  said  “Is  that  all?”  The 
missionaries  replied,  “Yes,  we  have  presented  our  case. 
We  have  no  more  to  say  except  that  we  hope  our  request 
will  be  granted.”  The  magistrate  answered.  “Very  well ; 
good-bye,”  and  rose  from  his  seat,  thus  signifying  that 
the  interview  was  over.  An  attempt  by  the  missionaries 
to  speak  further  was  met  by  the  magistrate  saying,  “Get 
out,  get  out,”  waving  them  away  as  if  they  had  been 
criminals  and  were  driven  from  the  presence  of  injured 
law.  But  the  effort  was  not  given  up.  Entrance  was 
finally  gained  but  it  was  evident  to  the  missionaries  that 
the  atmosphere  was  charged  with  opposition  and  that 
the  slightest  mistake  would  set  the  whole  community  in 
a blaze  of  opposition.  At  a later  date  a missionary  was 
put  in  charge  of  the  station.  A native  Christian  day 
school  teacher  and  an  ex-soldier,  who  was  also  a Chris- 
tian, took  possession  of  the  rented  property  in  the  early 
part  of  May,  1895.  The  work  encountered  eveiT  possible 
opposition.  Some  progress  was  made  until  the  spring 
of  1896  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  break  up  the  mis- 
sion by  riot.  The  writer  of  the  original  deed  to  the  prop- 
erty, thinking  to  frighten  the  missionaries  into  giving 
money,  secretely  buried  a child  in  the  rear  yard  of  the 
compound  and  circulated  the  story  that  the  missionaries 
were  killing  the  children  and  using  their  eyes  for  medicine. 
-A.  demand  was  made  for  permission  to  search  the  premises 
which  was  readily  granted.  The  leader  of  the  riot  led 


IN  CHINA 


41 


the  crowd  to  the  place  where  he  had  hid  the  body  of  the 
child  and  unearthed  it.  This  precipitated  a riot,  and  the 
missionaries,  barely  escaping  with  their  lives,  took  refuge 
in  the  Kiangyin  fort  where  they  were  given  protection. 
The  furnishings  were  destroyed  and  the  mission  building 
was  wrecked  but  not  burned.  Within  a few  days  the 
plot  was  divulged  and  the  missionaries  were  completely 
exonerated.  The  opposition  of  the  people  following  the 
riot  was  finally  broken  down  by  the  uniform  kindness  of 
the  missionaries,  preaching  the  gospel,  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  personal  work.  In  1897  the  work  that  had 
been  started  at  Wusih  was  moved  to  Kiangyin,  making  one 
strong  station.  More  than  two  years  after  the  first  at- 
tempt to  open  the  station,  the  first  openly  confessed  in- 
quirer was  received. 

In  striking  and  happy  contrast  with  the  turbulent  and 
almost  tragic  conditions  of  the  early  days  at  Kiangyin 
are  present  achievements.  The  work  has  the  friendshi]^ 
of  thousands  of  rich  and  poor  in  the  city  and  surrounding 
country.  The  one  convert  has  multiplied  until  there  are 
two  organized  churches  in  Kiangyin.  The  small  inade- 
, quate  rented  quarters  have  been  succeeded  with  a finely 
located  mission  compound  with  a chapel,  missionary  resi- 
dences, excellent  school  buildings  and  hospital  buildings, 
one  of  which  is  for  women. 

The  Kiangyin  Schools 

There  are  two  excellent  schools  of  academy  grade  in 
Kiangyin — the  James  Sprunt  Academy  for  boys  and  the 
Luola  Murchison  Siu’unt  Academy  for  girls.  The  two 
buildings  were  erected  by  Mr.  James  Sprunt  of  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina.  In  the  school  for  boys,  the  atten- 


42 


IN  CHINA 


dance  is  limited  only  by  the  ability  to  accommodate  the 
students.  Especial  effort  is  made  among  the  boys  to  get 
in  personal  touch  with  every  student  by  divi'ling  the  whole 
body  into  groups  and  making  one  Christian  teacher  re- 
'■•ponsible  for  a direct  personal  appeal. 

In  the  Luola  Murchison  Sprunt  School  for  girls  the 
attendance  is  as  large  as  can  be  accommodated.  This 
school  is  becoming  the  destination  of  graduates  from  the 
large  and  growing  girls’  grammar  schools  in  the  city.  The 
spiritual  results  in  these  two  schools  have  been  most  grat- 
ifying. Thel  following  is  quoted  from  the  last  Annual 
Reixjrt  regarding  the  work  in  our  Kiangyin  schools : 
“In  every  fresh  influx  of  pupils  into  our  mission 
schools  there  are  some  who-  begin  to  grow  and  flour- 
ish like  flowers  in  a greenhouse.  ‘This  is  what  I’ve 
b'een  waiting  for  all  my  life!’  is  their  attitude.  And  it  is 
for  such  as  these  that  the  door  must  be  kept  carefully 
open.  Our  constituency  at  home  will  please  not  get  the 
idea  that  all  is  beautiful  and  perfect  in  our  schools,  and 
poor  and  vile  in  the  others.  In  many  technical  and 
mechanical  features,  and  in  some  good,  modern,  educa- 
tional methods,  the  good  average  government  school  is 
ahead  of  the  average  mission  school  and  we  should  like 
to  move  forward  in  these  respects.  But  what  we  rejoice 
in  is  that  there  comes  a light  into  the  faces  of  so  many  of 
our  ])upils  that  was  altogether  wanting  when  they  came; 
and  many  a parent  comes  saying,  T know  the  standards 
of  conduct  in  your  honorable  school  are  high,  and  I bring 
my  child  here  because  I feel  safe.’  or  a boy  says,  ‘My 
father  told  me,  I am  too  old  to  change ; but  I want  you 
to  go  and  learn  this  doctrine  and  so  I am  here.’  ” 


IN  CHIN  A 


43 


The  Hospital  Work 

Our  excellent  hospital  at  Kiangyin,  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  George  C.  Worth  and  his  Chinese  assistants,  is 
one  of  the  most  successful  agencies  in  the  Kiangyin  field. 
The  location  is  admirable.  The  number  of  patients  treated 
in  the  clinic  and  taken  care  of  in  the  hospital  is  only  limited 
by  the  capacity  of  the  buildings.  A number  of  competent 
medical  helpers,  both  men  and  women,  have  been  trained 
in  this  hospital.  The  Chinese  doctors  who  get  their  train- 
ing in  our  hospitals,  are  in  many  cases,  outstanding  .men 
in  the  medical  profession.  The  trained  nurses  also  receive 
thorough  instruction  which  qualifies  them  for  a work  un- 
known to  China  until  the  day  of  medical  missions.  A 
group  of  the  Kiangyin  gentry  gave  expression  to  their 
appreciation  of  the  hospital  by  contributing  $2,000.00, 
Me.xican,  to  erect  and  equip  a ward  for  poor  patients.  The 
group  organized  to  stamp  out  the  use  of  opium  in  the 
magistracy  sent  smokers  to  the  hospital  to  be  cured,  re- 
serving a small  ward  and  paying  the  expenses  of  the  poor. 
Rev.  H.  C.  DuBose,  D.D.  was  for  many  years  a promi- 
nent leader  in  the  anti-opium  movement  in  China.  There 
are  two  objectives  in  all  our  hospitals ; first  to  develop 
Chinese  doctors  to  a point  where  they  can  take  the  place 
of  the  medical  missionary  both  in  general  practice  and 
the  management  of  hospitals  and  allow  the  missionary  to 
open  new  fields ; and  second,  to  see  that  hospital  and  all 
medical  work  is  regarded  as  a missionary  agency,  keeping 
the  evangelistic  message  in  prominent  place  in  connection 
with  the  healing  of  the  body. 

Kiangyin  is  the  center  of  a large  country  work  in  which 
the  missionaries  in  charge  are  assisted  by  associate  Chinese 


44 


IN  CHINA 


Ijreachers  of  ability.  A numljer  of  churches  have  been 
organized  and  several  chapels  erected. 

Statistics.  The  following  is  taken  from  the  last  statis- 
tical report  of  Kiangyin  station ; In  the  5 organized  con- 
gregations and  1 1 other  places  of  worship  there  are  848 
communicants  and  a Christian  constituency  of  1478.  There 
are  16  out-stations.  In  22  Sabbath  schools  are  820  impds 
and  in  the  14  day  schools  of  all  grades  there  are  692  stu- 
dents. In  the  hospital  there  are  one  foreign  and  three 
native  physicians.  There  are  six  hospital  buildings  and 
one  dispensary.  6014  individuals  were  treated.  In  the 
Kiangyin  field  is  a foreign  force  of  16;  native  workers; 
24. 

NANKING 

Nanking  is  one  of  the  greatest  historical  cities  of 
China.  It  was  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Ming  Dy- 
nasty. Not  far  from  the  city  is  the  remarkable  tomb  of 
the  first  emperor  of  this  dynasty.  Nanking  is  situated  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Yangtze  River.  Several  railroads, 
built  or  projected,  radiate  from  this  great  business  center. 
The  ancient  wall  surrounding  the  city,  twenty-two  miles 
in  length,  seventy  feet  high,  thirty  feet  wide  with  thir- 
teen gates,  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  of  the  many  city 
walls  in  China.  Nanking  is  known  far  and  wide  as  a 
great  literary  center  and  is  noted  for  various  industries. 

Our  work  at  Nanking  has  been  largely  in  cooperation 
in  union  movements.  An  increasing  interest  in  the  union 
of  the  Chinese  churches  in  connection  with  the  Pres- 
byterian U.  S.  and  Presbyterian  U.  S.  A.  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Nanking  Union  Theological  Semin- 
ary. An  e.xcellent  site  inside  the  walls  was  secured  on 
which  a number  of  buildings  have  been  erected.  There 
are  now  five  of  the  Central  China  missions  cooperating  in 


IN  CHINA 


45 


the  control  of  the  Seminary — The  Presbyterian  Church 
U.  S.,  Presbyterian  Church  U.  S.  A.,  Southern  Method- 
ist, Northern  Methodist  and  Disciples.  The  Seminary 
serves  our  two  China  missions.  The  total  enrollment 
of  students  last  year  was  127  with  a graduating  class 
of  fifty.  A Bible  School,  organized  in  connection  with 
the  seminary,  has  been  separated  from  the  seminarv 
with  the  result  of  a “Solid  advance  along  all  lines.”  Our 
church  is  represented  loy  four  professors  on  the  seminary 
faculty.  The  Union  Women’s  Bible  School  in  which 
our  church  is  cooperating,  is  doing  a fine  work  in  training 
Chinese  women  for  Christian  service. 

The  Nanking  Union  Hospital,  maintained  by  the  mis- 
sions of  evangelical  denominations  working  in  Nanking, 
with  a physician  of  our  church  in  charge,  is  a hospital  of 
high  standing. 


LUOLA  MURCHISON  SPRUNT  ACADEMY,  GIRL’S  SCHOOL, 
KIANGYIN. 


46 


IN  CHINA 


An  organization  that  has  already  been  greatly  used  in 
the  promotion  of,  the  gospel  is  the  Evangelistic  Union 
W'ork  for  Central  China,  of  which  our  Rev.  P.  F.  Price, 
D.D.,  is  secretary. 

The  Synod  of  Five  Provinces 

An  event  of  outstanding  importance,  taking  place  at 
Nanking  was  the  formation  of  the  Presbyterian  Synod. 
While  the  plans  for  the  establishment  of  the  seminary 
were  being  developed,  the  matter  of  the  union  of  the 
two  branches  (Presbyterian  Church  U.  S.  Presbyterian 
Church,  U.  S.  i\.)  working  in  Central  China  made  steady 
progress.  In  1906  at  a meeting  of  foreign  and  Chinese 
representatives  in  Nanking,  a Synod  was  formed  to  be 
known  as  the  Synod  of  Five  Provinces — Chekiang, 
Kiangsu,  Anhwei,  Hunan,  and  Hupeh. 

Our  missionaries,  principally  engaged  in  union  move- 
ments, are  active  in  the  city  and  surrounding  field.  Our 
missionary  women  find  large  opportunity  for  evangelistic 
work. 

TUNGHIANG  AND  CHANGCHOW 

Tunghiang.  Before  it  was  possible  to  open  a station 
in  Kashing,  work  was  opened  in  the  town  of  Sinchang. 
Lack  of  space  prevents  giving  an  account  of  the  diffi- 
culties and  successes  of  the  work  in  Sinchang.  In  1905, 
when  it  was  felt  there  was  no  room  for  future  expansion, 
the  work  in  Sinchang  was  moved  to  Donchang,  now  called 
Tunghiang,  an  important  town  in  the  center  of  a heirt 
shaped  field  about  eighteen  miles  from  Kashing.  For 
a number  of  years  a successful  work  was  carried  on  in 
this  city  of  20,000  people  and  in  the  surrounding  country. 
After  Kashing  station  was  opened  with  hospital  and 


IN  CHINA 


47 


school  facilities,  the  work  as  a regular  station  in  Tung- 
hiang  was  gradually  discontinued  and  finally  moved  to 
Kashing.  Both  Sinchang  and  Tunghiang  are  now  out- 
stations  of  the  Kashing  field. 

Changchow.  Changchow,  a prefectural  city  on  the 
Shanghai  and  Nanking  Railway  situated  about  half  wky 
l>etween  Suchow  and  Chinkiang,  was,  at  one  time,  a 
station  of  the  Mid-China  Mission  with  a missionary  in 
charge.  The  importance  of  the  field  and  its  occupancy 
as  one  of  a chain  of  mission  stations  made  it  very  desirable 
that  we  should  occupy  this  field  permanently,  but  owing 
to  lack  of  workers  and  funds  for  equipment,  it  was  found 
impossible  to  continue  the  work^ 

Shanghai.  Shanghai,  the  greatest  port  in  China,  is 
the  center  of  a large  number  of  missionary  activities, 
and  is  especially  noted  as  a headquarters  for  the  publi- 
cation of  missionary  literature.  The  Chinese  are  great 
readers  and  it  is  of  primary  importance  that  they  be  given 
a Christian  literature.  Shanghai  is  not  one  of  our  regular 
stations  but  it  is  an  important  city  to  our  China  work 
as  the  headquarters  of  the  joint  treasurer  of  the  two 
missions,  and  the  office  of  the  publication,  “The  Chris- 
tian  InteUigeuccr,”  a church  paper  with  a large  circula- 
tion, representing  all  the  Presbyterian  bodies  having  mis- 
sions in  China. 

The  accounts  of  the  work  in  the  stations  of  the  Mid- 
China  Mission  have  been  taken  up  in  order  of  their  open- 
ing. Chinkiang  was  opened  in  1883,  but  as  it  is  a station 
of  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission  the  descriptive  notes  will 
be  found  in  the  next  chapter. 


48 


IN  CHINA 


ENTERING  THE  GRAND  CANAL,  NORTH  SIDE  OF  THE 
YANGTZE  RIVER 


Chapter  V 


NORTH  KIANGSU  MISSION  STATIONS 

The  Field 

The  North  Kiangsu  Mission  field  begins  along  the 
Yangtze  River  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north- 
west of  Shanghai,  and  extends  farther  northwest  about 
three  hundred  miles.  It  is  the  Egypt  of  China.  Much 
of  it  is  low  and  subject  to  overflow.  On  this  delta  soil 
the  most  bountiful  crops  of  wheat,  maize,  caffercorn,  rice, 
millet,  beans,  peanuts  and  sweet  potatoes  are  grown. 
Layer  upon  layer  of  silt  has  been  deposited  over  the  whole 
land,  till  only  isolated  hills  stand  out  here  and  there  like 
islands  out  of  the  sea.  Here  is  where  “China’s  Sorrow” 
has  ix)ured  its  destroying  flood,  and  every  inch  of  the 
unfathomed  silt  is  vocal  with  the  moans  of  amazing  num- 
bers of  hungering,  suffering  people.  In  contrast  with  the 
official  and  rich  classes  are  the  millions  of  extremely 
poor  and  densely  ignorant  people  in  large  cities  and  in 
almost  innumerable  villages  in  the  rural  districts.  The 
population  of  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission  field,  a district 
about  the  size  of  the  state  of  Virginia  and  half  of  North 
Carolina,  is  conservatively  estimated  as  fifteen  million. 

Famines  in  North  Kiangsu 

The  famines  in  Kiangsu,  especially  the  great  famine  of 
1907  which  occurred  in  the  region  occupied  by  our  North 


50 


IN  CHINA 


Kiangsu  Mission  stations,  have  ijeen.snch  an  important 
factor  in  opening  the  way  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
in  all  that  section  of  China,  that  some  mention  of  them 
is  an  essential  part  of  this  sketch.  It  so  occurred  that  the 
members  of  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission,  in  large  degree, 
were  the  leaders  in  the  distribution  of  the  relief  which  the 
generous  contributions  of  the  j^eonle  of  the  United  States 
made  possil)le.  Our  missionaries,  with  the  co-operation 
of  the  missionaries  of  other  denominations,  gave  up  all 
other  work  and  devoted  themselves  to  the  saving  of  the 
lives  of  as  many  of  the  people  as  their  jjhysical  strength 
would  allow.  The  stories  of  heroism  in  this  and  other 
famines  will  never  he  fully  written,  but  they  will  find 
their  reward  in  the  day  when  the  Lord  shall  say,  ‘‘Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  ye  did  it 
unto  me.” 

'Fhe  relief  work  commended  itself  to  the  officials  and 
gentry  in  all  the  cities.  The  appreciation,  not  only  of  the 


“And  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  unto  them” 


IN  CHINA 


51 


starving,  but  of  the  wealthy  and  official  classes,  was  cor- 
dial and  outspoken.  “Constant  effort  was  made  to  keep 
before  the  officials  and  the  jjeople  the  motive  of  the  relief 
work,  viz.;  disinterested  friendliness  growing  out  of  the 
teachings  of  our  Saviour : and  they  realized  this  to  a re- 
markable degree  and  often  remarked  that  the  help  which 
China  received  came  from  Christ.’’  When  the  magistrate 
of  Hwaianfu  presented  a handsome  memorial  tablet  to 
the  station  expressing  his  thanks,  the  leading  man  who 
came  to  announce  the  gift  suggested  that  it  be  hung  in 
the  chapel  in  honor  of  the  Savior,  as  the  Chinese  knew 
the  charity  bestowed  had  been  due  to  him.  A profound 
and  widespread  impression  for  good  was  made  upon  the 
Chinese  by  the  relief  work,  not  only  tending  to  promote 
kindly  feeling  between  China  and  other  countries,  but 
also  to  o]:>en  the  hearts  of  multitudes  of  people  to  the 
gospel. 

CHINKIANG 

Chinkiang  (1883),  is  the  only  station  of  the  North 
Kiangsu  Mission  south  of  the  Yangtze  River  in  Chinkiang. 
1'his  city,  with  a population  of  about  325,000,  is  one  of 
the  most  important  in  this  section  of  the  republic.  The 
Yangtze  River  supplies  a medium  of  communication  to 
the  sea  in  the  one  direction  and  far  into  the  interior  in  the 
other.  The  Grand  Canal,  with  numerous  intersecting 
canals,  flowing  from  the  Yangtze  on  the  south  and  also 
o])ening  into  the  Yangtze  on  the  north  side,  provides 
communication  to  the  north  and  south.  The  railroad  from 
Shanghai  to  Nanking  has  greatly  added  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  city  as  a receiving  and  distributing  center. 
The  city  is  beautifully  situated  and  its  hills,  on  one  of 
which  our  mission  buildings  are  located,  are  a refuge 


IN  CHINA 


52 


from  the  oppressive  summer  heat.  There  are  large  sub- 
urbs along  the  canal.  Five  of  these  suburban  cities  can 
be  seen  from  our  station  grounds. 

It  w'as  decided  to  open  Chinkiang  as  a station  in  the 
fall  of  1883.  Rev.  S.  I.  VVoodbridge,  D.D.,  now  editor 
of  the  Chinese  Christian  Intelligencer,  was  the  first  mis- 
sionary. A very  beautifuly  located  piece  of  land  outside 
the  city  on  a high  hill,  nearly  a mile  from  the  west  gate 
of  the  city,  was  purchased.  On  this  property  missionary 
homes  and  school  buildings  have  been  erected.  The  usual 
ex]ierience  of  small  beginnings  and  slow  growth  pre- 
vailed. With  the  arrival  of  the  additional  missionaries, 
cha]:)els  were  opened  in  the  city,  educational  work  begun 
and  out-stations  opened  in  the  surrounding  territory.  The 
number  of  inquirers,  believers  and  baptized  members  in- 
creased until  in  1909  the  number  was  sufficient  to  or- 
ganize a Presbyterian  Church  and  the  hope  of  the  mis- 
sionaries during  sixteen  years  of  self-sacrificing  service 
was  realized.  A large  field  for  evangelization  remains 
to  be  occupied  in  Chinkiang.  Large  results  have  followed 
the  seed  sowing  of  our  own  missionaries  and  other  de- 
nominations, but  it  is  estimated  that  at  least  one-third  of 
the  population  is  unevangelized,  that  is,  there  are  consid- 
erably over  100,000  men,  women  and  young  people  in 
Chinkiang  who  have  not  heard  the  gospel  message. 

We  now  have  an  organized  church  in  the  city,  a church 
at  the  South  Gate  and  a new  chapel  recently  opened.  A 
considerable  territory,  with  important  out-stations,  is  in- 
cluded in  the  Chinkiang  field,  in  which,  including  the  city, 
there  is  a ]X)pulation  of  2,000,000. 

In  several  of  the  out-stations,  there  are  organized 
churches  and  there  is  hope  of  soon  organizing  additional 


IN  CHINA 


53 


churches  at  several  points.  Primary  and  intermediate 
schools,  taught  by  Chinese  Christian  teachers,  are  feeders 
to  the  school  of  academy  grade  at  the  central  station. 

Our  outstanding  educational  work  in  Chinkiang  is  the 
Burton  Memorial  School  for  Boys,  opened  in  1906.  From 
the  beginning,  this  building  has  not  been  adequate  to  ac- 
commodate all  the  students  who  desire  to  attend  the  school. 
In  1918  the  Hawley  Memorial,  an  eight-room  building 
was  erected,  which  has  greatly  added  to  the  school  equip- 
ment. When  adequate  equipment  is  provided,  it  is 
Ijlanned  to  divide  the  school  into  two  departments,  the 
high  school  to  be  known  as  the  Burton  Memorial,  and  the 
higher  primary  school  to  be  known  as  the  Hawley  Me- 
morial. The  Annual  Report  (1923  ) shows  an  enrollment 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-three.  Fifty  applicants  were 
turned  away  for  lack  of  room.  A deep  spiritual  interest 
pervades  the  school.  “Thirty-six  students  united  with 
the  church  during  the  year  and  there  were  only  eight  who 
did  not  signify  their  willingness  to  accept  Christ  as  their 
Saviour.” 


VILLAGE  SHRINE 


54 


IN  CHINA 


The  Missionary  Academy 

The  general  plan,  purpose  and  results  of  our  foreign 
mission  schools  of  academy  grade  can  be  best  stated  by 
quoting  from  a report  made  several  years  ago  of  the 
Burton  Memorial  School  at  Chinkiang:  “Of  a total  en- 
rollment of  375  students  during  a series  of  years,  some 
dropped  out  after  a year  or  more;  some  completed  the 
higher  primary  course,  hut  did  not  enter  high  school.  In- 
\estigation  showed  that  failure  to  complete  the  entire 
course  in  90  per  cent  of  the  cases  was  due  to  a lack  of 
funds.  All  of  the  students  remained  in  the  school  long 
enough  to  receive  a full  knowledge  of  God  and  the  plan 
of  salvation.  During  the  time  covered  by  the  report,  six 
of  the  students  died,  all  of  whom  had  made  a profession 
of  faith  in  Christ.  Some  of  the  graduates  from  the  high 
.school  went  into  higher  institutions  of  learning,  others 
filled  ]>ositions  of  usefulness  in  teaching,  preaching  and 
in  business.  Three  of  the  ex-students  held  positions  in  the 
Chinese  jx^st  ofifice ; three  went  to  work  in  banks ; a few 
were  employed  in  foreign  business  houses ; eight  secured 
jjositions  in  mission  schools  and  one  in  a Government 
school ; four  became  interpreters  for  the  Chinese  laborers 
in  Euro])e;  three  became  preachers  in  our  own  mission, 
fi\  e went  to  college ; three  to  medical  schools  ; three  studied 
nur.sing  in  mission  hospitals  and  many  went  to  work  in 
Chine^^e  business  houses.'’ 

During  the  year  covered  by  the  report,  the  students 
came  from  the  following  social  classes:  official  class,  6; 
scholar  class,  20;  merchant  class,  55;  artisan  class,  4; 
farmer  class.  17;  laboring  class,  17;  .scattering,  12.  Of 
the  total  enrollment,  only  35  came  from  Christian  homes. 


I'he  large  majority  came  from  government  schools  and 
non-Christian  homes. 

A hospital  has  long  been  a pressing  need  in  the  Chin- 
kiang  station  and  field.  A memorial  fund,  adecpiate  for 
the  erection  and  ecpiipment  of  a first-class  hospital,  has 
been  provided  and  the  Goldsby  King  Memorial  Hospital 
is  now  in  the  process  of  construction  outside  the  West 
Gate.  It  will  be  a large  addition  to  the  work  locally  and 
in  the  surrounding  territory. 

Statistics — In  Chinkiang  station  and  field  there  are 
six  organized  churches  with  938  communicants  and  a 
Christian  constituency  of  1,653.  There  is  a foreign  force 
of  nine,  and  twenty-three  native  workers.  In  the  fourteen 
.Sabbath  schools  there  is  a membership  of  1,021  and  in 
twenty-.seven  day  schools  there  are  731  students. 

TSINGKIANGPU  . 

It  will  he  noted  that  the  sketches  of  our  mission  stations 
are  continued  in  the  order  of  their  opening.  Tsing- 
kiangpu  is  on  the  Grand  Canal  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  north  of  Chinkiang.  The  population  of  the 
city  is  150,000;  of  the  station  and  field,  2,000,000. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  work  the  iieople  were  turbulent 
and  manifested  strong  op^xisition  to  the  missionaries. 
During  the  Boxer  troubles  our  missionaries  were  com- 
pelled to  flee  for  their  lives.  The  missionaries  were 
stoned  and  driven  from  villages  when  making  itineraries. 
By  patient  and  persistent  service  among  the  people,  es- 
pecially the  relief  work  of  missionaries  during  the  terrible 
famines,  prejudice  was  broken  down.  Now  a missionary 
writes,  “The  future  is  bright  with  promise  at  Tsingki- 
angpu.’’  The  people  are  more  friendly  than  ever  before 


56 


IN  CHINA 


and  in  all  lines  the  harvests  following  the  years  of  faith- 
ful service  are  at  hand. 

The  evangelistic  work  at  Tsingkiangpa  is  represented 
hy  an  organized  church  supporting  a Chinese  pastor.  A 
church  building  seating  four  hundred  has  been  erected 
hy  the  Chinese  members.  There  are  a number  of  addi- 
tional preaching  places  throughout  the  city.  The  out- 
station  field  is  large  and  includes  two  organized  churches. 
The  itinerating  missionaries,  as  is  common  in  all  our  out- 
station  work,  cannot  possibly  meet  the  calls  for  visits  to 
almost  unnumbered  villages  that  are  waiting  for  the 
gospel. 

have  two  prosperous  schools  in  the  station,  one 
for  boys  and  another  for  girls.  These  schools  are 
crowded  with  pupils.  Recent  additions  of  dormitory 
rooms  are  inadequate  to  provide  for  the  boys  coming 
from  outside  the  city  who  desire  to  attend  the  school.  The 


GENERAL  HOSPiTAL,  TSINGKIANGPU 


IN  CHINA 


57 


school  work  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Chinese  of  al! 
classes. 

The  hospital  at  Tsingkiangpii  is  a splendidly  equipped 
building  requiring  the  services  of  two  physicians  with 
native  Chinese  helf>ers  in  conducting  the  work.  Nearly 
all  of  the  newer  hospital  equipment  has  been  supplied  by 
generous  friends,  including  electric  light  for  the  hospital 
and  the  residences  of  the  two  physicians. 

Statistics.  The  statistics  of  Tsingkiangpu  station  and 
field  show  three  fully  organized  churches  with  twenty- 
eight  other  places  of  regular  worship  and  the  church 
membership  of  704  with  a Christian  constituency  of  1,584. 
In  27  schools  are  606  students.  In  the  hospital  there 
are  two  foreign  doctors,  one  native  doctor,  two  dispen- 
saries, with  a total  number  of  13,072  individuals  treated 
and  53,122  treatments  given.  Fourteen  missionaries  with 
23  native  workers  are  reported  at  the  central  and  out- 
station  field. 

Tsingkiangpu  as  a Base 

Tsingkiangpu  was  opened  as  a base  for  activities  in 
the  whole  northern  section  of  our  China  field  now  in- 
cluded in  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission.  From  this  station 
as  a center,  pioneer  work  was  carried  on  in  fields  now 
worked  from  Sutsien,  Hsnchoufu,  Haichow,  Hwaianfu 
and  a part  of  the  present  Yencheng  field.  When  the  work 
was  established  in  certain  localities  in  the  immense  field 
the  meed  for  outlying  stations  became  apparent  and  sta- 
tions were  opened  in  the  following  order:  Sutsein,  Hsu- 
clioufu,  Hlwaianfu,  Haichow  and  Yencheng. 


58 


IN  CHIN  A 


SUTSIEN 

Sutsien,  sixty  miles  north  of  Tsingkiangpu  on  the  Grand 
Canal,  was  opened  in  1891.  The  history  of  Sutsien  runs 
back  into  the  time  of  the  kings  of  Judah.  If  its  name,  “De- 
lightful,’’ was  a prophecy,  it  has  been  a long  time  in  com- 
ing true.  Its  records  for  1,500  years  are  little  more  than 
notes  of  floods,  famines,  blood  and  groans.  Of  old  the 
city  was  built  on  the  banks  of  the  Yellow  River,  and 
it  and  all  the  country  around  was  subject  to  overflow. 
For  a period  of  600  years  the  whole  river  was  scarcely 
ever  a score  of  years  in  the  same  channel,  and  the  people 
learned  full  well  what  “China’s  Sorrow’’  meant. 

In  the  beginning  the  missionaries  met  with  strong  op- 
position, but  the  work  is  now  well  established  in  this  city 
of  50,000  people.  This  comparatively  small  city  afifords 
an  excellent  center  from  which  to  reach  a teeming  coun- 
try population.  The  city  and  field  have  a population  of 
some  two  million  people. 

In  the  city  of  Sutsien  there  is  an  organized  church.  The 
evangelistic  work  in  the  out-station  field  is  most  encourag- 
ing. The  following  extract  taken  from  a letter  received 
from  a missionary  is  illustrative  of  the  results  of  evan- 
gelistic work  in  China:  “The  fruits  of  a Christian  life 
are  more  and  more  apparent.  A farmer  gives  his  o.xen 
and  men-servants  rest  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  he  keeps 
up  his  services  in  the  church  in  his  hamlet.  His  only 
son  is  in  the  school  and  he  supjwrts  his  son-in-law  in  the 
Christian  school  so  as  to  try  to  give  him  a Christian  edm 
cation.  His  daughter  had  been  betrothed  to  him  in  in- 
fancy, and  the  father  saw  his  son-in-law  growing  up  out 
of  sympathy  with  Christianity.  The  Christians,  of  their 
own  accord,  have  changed  their  former  custom  of  call- 


IN  CHINA 


59 


ing  their  children  such  names  as  ‘Deception,’  ‘Killer,’ 
‘Lock-up,’  etc.,  and  now  one  hears  ‘Renewed,’  ‘Great 
Favor,’  ‘Love,’  ‘Truth’.” 

I 

The  Schools  and  Hospital 

The  educational  work  in  this  station  includes  an  ex- 
cellent school  for  hoys  with  accommodations  for  boarding 
pupils.  The  number  of  students  is  limited  only  by  the 
ability  to  accommodate  the  boys  who  would  attend  the 
school.  There  is  also  a school  for  girls  in  which  good 
work  is  being  done. 

The  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement  has  a special  in- 
terest in  the  excellent  hospital  building  erected  by  gifts 
made  at  the  first  general  convention  of  laymen,  held  in 
Birmingham,  Alabama,  in  1909.  The  building  is  well 
located  on  a plot  of  ground  outside  the  city  walls.  In 


ITINERATING  BY  WHEELBARROW 


60 


IN  CHIN  A 


this  hospital,  during  the  year,  27,476  treatments  were 
given.  The  following  statement  regarding  the  needs  of 
Sutsien  applies  in  greater  or  less  degree  to  all  our  mis- 
sion stations  in  China.  First  of  all,  are  reinfoi'cements 
and  adequate  erjuipment.  Radiating  in  all  directions  from 
this  center  there  is  a large  out-station  field.  A few  years 
ago  it  was  reported  that  “about  1,200  out  of  6,000  square 
miles  were,  in  a sense,  occupied,  leaving  four-fifths  of  the 
territory  unoccupied.’’  The  needs  of  the  people  justify 
an  urgent  appeal  and  the  results  of  the  work  in  the  past 
justify  the  prediction  that  with  an  increased  number  of 
workers  and  an  enlarged  equipment,  the  future  has  greater 
victories  to  be  achieved. 

Statistics.  The  Annual  Report  of  Sutsien  station 
shows  four  organized  churches  and  54  other  places  of 
worship,  with  1,804  communicants,  and  a Christian  con- 
stituency of  3,805.  In  24  Sabbath  schools  are  1,524  pu- 
pils. The  67  schools  have  an  enrollment  of  1,732  stu- 
dents. There  are  9 foreign  workers  and  33  native  work- 
ers. 

HSUCHOUFU 

lIsucHoi’FU  (1896).  Passing  through  the  out-station 
field  of  Sutsien  extending  north  and  northwest,  we  pass 
into  the  out-station  field  of  Hsuchoufu,  extending  to  the 
south  and  southwest  from  the  central  station.  Hsuchoufu 
is  one  of  the  most  important  cities  in  this  part  of  China. 
It  is  a wide-awake,  progressive,  growing  city,  with  a 
thickly  populated  outlying  field.  It  marks  the  northern 
boundary  of  our  North  Kiangsu  stations,  being  about 
two  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  Chinkiang.  The  pop- 
ulation, including  the  suburbs,  is  about  180,000.  The 


IN  CHINA 


61 


Grand  Canal  passes  some  thirt}'  miles  to  the  east. 
Hsuchoufn  has  recently  become  an  important  railroad 
center.  One  line  rims  east  and  west ; another,  the  main 
line,  north  and  south,  giving  railroad  connection,  as  mis- 
sionaries say,  “between  Shanghai  and  London.”  The 
area  of  the  Hsnchoufu  field  is  estimated  to  be  3,600  square 
miles  with  a population  of  180,000. 

As  at  other  stations,  strong  opposition  was  manifested 
on  the  part  of  the  gentry  to  the  work  of  the  first  mis- 
sionaries. They  were  compelled  to  withdraw  for  a time, 
hut  returning  after  a year,  under  somewhat  dififerent  con- 
ditions, the  .station  was  fully  opened  in  1896.  As  a result 
of  years  of  hard,  patient  and  self-sacrificing  service,  there 
are  two  organized  churches  in  H/suchoufu  and  a number 
of  preaching  points  in  and  near  the  city.  The  well-located 
compound  contains  several  missionary  residences,  a church 
building  that  will  seat  three  hundred  and  fifty  people, 
separate  hospitals  for  men  and  women,  and  school  build- 
ings. Among  those  who  have  accepted  the  gospel  are  na- 
tive preachers,  teachers,  medical  attendants  and  Bible 
women  trained  by  working  with  the  missionaries. 

The  Two  Schools  at  Hsuchoufu 

The  Julia  Farrior  Sanford  Memorial  School  for  Boys, 
now  of  high  school  grade,  began  in  1897  with  five  small 
hoys  taught  in  a rented  Chinese  room  in  the  central  part 
of  the  city.  Three  of  these  hoys  have  been  members  of 
the  church  for  years,  one  is  a hospital  assistant,  one  a 
Chinese  pastor  and  one  is  in  business.  Such  are  the  first 
fruits  of  years  of  succeeding  growth  in  the  school  until 
the  last  report  (1923)  shows  an  attendance  of  one  hun- 
dred sixtj'-nine,  the  full  capacity  of  the  school.  A large 


62 


IN  CHINA 


WEST  GATE,  HSUCHOUFU,  ON  THE  LEFT  IS  THE  WALL  OF 
THE  STATION  COMPOUND 


percentage  of  the  pupils  are  Christians.  More  than  thirty 
I)oys  are  reix)rted  as  going  out  to  preach  and  teach  in 
difficult  parts  of  the  city  on  Sundays. 

'The  Mary  d'honipson  Stevens  School  for  Girls  is  mak- 
ing steady  growth  in  numbers  and  development.  The 
1923  report  shows  an  enrollment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty, 
50  ])er  cent  increase  over  the  previous  year.  A large  per- 
centage of  the  older  girls  are  Christians.  The  industrial 
department  has  grown  until  a si>ecial  teacher  has  to  he 
enpdoyed. 

Hospitals  for  Men  and  Women 

'I'he  two  hospitals,  with  separate  buildings  for  men  and 
women,  are  crowded  with  patients.  Recent  reports  tell 


IN  CHINA 


63 


of  wards  and  private  rooms  l)eing  full  to  overflowing. 
Thomas  Rogers  Memorial  Woman’s  Hospital,  in  cliarge 
of  Dr.  Nettie  Grier,  has  been  an  untold  blessing  to  thou- 
sands of  women  in  both  body  and  soul.  Dr.  Grier  was 
suddenly  compelled  to  go  to  Pekin  for  a serious  surgical 
operation.  Just  before  the  operation,  a telegram  was 
handed  to  her,  which  read  : “Hsuchoufu  Christians  are  in 
]>rayer  for  you,”  and  all  that  day  Christians  who  loved 
Dr.  Grier  were  fasting  and  praying.  “No  wonder,”  some 
one  said,  “the  surgeons  were  surprised  at  the  rapid  re- 
covery.” 

Out-station  Field  and  Statistics 

The  out-station  field,  large  in  extent  and  densely  popu- 
lated, has  been  evangelized  as  fully  as  could  be  done  1)\' 
an  inadequate  force.  Churches  have  been  organized,  pri- 
mary schools  opened  and  an  increasing  number  of  preach- 
ing points  have  been  opened  in  the  villages.  This  work 
has  been  carried  on  under  dangerous  conditions  owing  to 
the  ])revalence  of  robbers  and  political  turmoil.  A great 
work  has  been  done,  but  a greater  remains.  Of  tbe  six 
thousand  villages  in  this  field  with  an  average  jwpulation 
of  three  hundred,  only  twelve  hundred  have  Christians. 

.St.ntistics.  In  the  three  organized  congregations  and 
36  other  jrlaces  of  worship,  there  are  901  communicants 
and  a Chri.stian  constituency  of  1,957.  In  28  Sabbath 
schools  there  is  a membership  of  1,430  and  in  the  24  dav 
.schools  are  805  students.  In  the  two  hospitals  two  for- 
eign and  two  Chinese  physicians  gave  54,168  treatments 
to  12,801  individuals.  Thirteen  foreign  workers  with  a 
native  force  of  29  are  connected  with  the  Hsuchoufu  field. 


64 


IN  CHINA 


HWAIANFU 

Hwaianfu  ( 1904).  Hwaianfu  i.s  a prefectural  city,  lo- 
cated on  the  Grand  Canal  about  one  hundred  and  ten 
miles  from  Chinkiang,  and  ten  miles  south  of  Tsingkiang- 
pu.  Hwaianfu  was  visited  regularly  by  missionaries  from 
Tsingkiangpu  until  1904,  when  it  became  a regular  sta- 
tion Vv'ith  a resident  missionary.  As  a prefectural  city  it 
governs  six  districts.  The  population  is  estimated  at  180,- 
000.  The  three  walls  in  their  present  and  past  location 
divide  the  city  into  the  new,  the  old  and  the  interlying 
city.  It  takes  its  name  from  the  Hwai  River,  which  at 
one  time  had  its  course  by  ihe  city,  but  its  waters  have 
been  diverted  into  a lake  and  canal.  A large  number  of 
wealthy  Chinese,  especially  of  the  official  class,  who  are 
very  conservative  people,  reside,  in  the  city.  While  many 
of  them  are  friends  of  the  missionaries,  they  have  been 
slow  to  accept  the  gospel.  There  is  a striking  difference 
between  T.singkiangpu  and  Hwaianfu;  the  former  is  a 
commercial  city,  the  latter  more  of  a residential  city.  The 
location  of  Hwaianfu  makes  it  an  admirable  point  for 


CITY  WALL,  HWAIANFU — INTERIOR.  NOTE  WATCH- 
TOWERS 


IN  CHINA 


65 


evangelistic  work.  The  area  of  the  field,  seventy  miles 
long  and  fifty  wide,  is  three  thousand  five  hundred  square 
miles,  with  a population  of  1,500,000 — four  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  to  a,  square  mile. 

The  progress  of  Hwaianfu  was  distressingly  slow, 
largely  as  a result  of  inadequate  equipment,  but  brighter 
days  have  recently  come.  A recent  report  says;  “This 
has  been  a year  of  encouraging  progress.  During  the 
year  a church  has  been  organized  and  the  Chinese  have 
called  a pastor.” 

Schools,  Hospital,  Statistics 

The  Boys’  School,  opened  at  the  request  of  Christians 
and  inquirers  who  do  not  want  their  children  educated 
under  the  influence  of  non-Christian  teachers,  is  prosper- 
ing. The  Girls’  School  is  well  attended.  The  number  of 
pupils,  one-third  of  whom  are  from  aristocratic  families, 
doubled  during  the  year  of  the  last  report. 

A clinic  is  conducted  regularly  from  the  Tsingkiangpu 
Hospital.  During  the  year  6,908  individuals  were  treated. 

A few  years  ago,  one  of  our  pioneer  missionaries  stated 
that  in  Hwaianfu  out-station  field  there  were  twenty  good- 
sized  towns  that  should  be  opened.  If  each  town  in- 
cluded a radius  of  five  miles  the  average  population  would 
be  6,500,  or  a total  population  of  1,400,000.  These  figures 
indicate  the  tremendous  task  the  entire  North  Kiangsu 
Mission  field  presents  in  both  territory  and  masses  of 
people,  millions  of  whom  have  never  heard  the  name 
of  Jesus. 

Statistics.  Organized  congregations,  1 ; other  places 
of  worship,  11;  church  members.  87;  Christian  constitu- 
ency, 537;  Sabbath  schools.  12;  pupils,  522;  day  schools. 


66 


IN  CHINA 


12;  students,  no  rejwrt ; foreign  force,  7;  native  -work- 
ers, 15. 

TAICHOW 

Taichow  (1908).  Taichow  is  an  important  city  about 
fifty  miles  northeast  of  Chinkiang  and  is  reached  by  canal 
boat.  This  city  was,  for  a number  rd  years,  an  out-stktion 
work  of  the  Chinkiang  field.  The  population  of  the  city 
is  300,000  and  in  the  field,  1,500,000. 

There  was  great  opposition  to  the  gospel  and  the  mis- 
sionaries had  great  difficulty  in  securing  an  entrance  to 
the  city.  The  Chinese  evangelist  working  with  Rev.  C.  N. 
Caldwell  was  beaten  almost  to  death.  When  the  place 
was  opened  as  a regular  station  in  1908  Dr.  Caldwell 
could  find  no  house  in  which  to  live  and  was  compelled  to 
occupy  a small  houseboat.  There  were  many  difficulties 
in  purchasing  land  and  getting  adequate  buildings.  Not- 
withstanding these  sometimes  almost  overwhelming  obsta- 
cles, a firm  footing  has  been  gained.  The  present  prop- 
erty consists  of  three  foreign  built  residences,  the  Sarah 
^^"alker  iMemorial  Hospital,  a chapel  with  rooms  for  the 
family  of  a native  preacher,  located  in  the  center  of  the 
city,  a new  building  for  The  Wichita  Falls  Boys’  School, 
and  a location  for  The  Harriet  Hunt  Girls’  School.  Re- 
garding the  jiresent  work  in  Taichow  we  quote  from  the 
last  Annual  Report : “This  has  been  a year  of  many 
\icissitudes  and  problems,  yet  one  of  joy  and  satisfaction 
in  the  Lord's  work.  The  hospital  work  has  been  dis- 
tinctly encouraging.  We  especially  rejoice  in  the  new 
hospital  building.’’  Tbe  school  for  boys  has  an  increased 
attendance  having  among  its  students  sons  of  some  of  the 
most  prominent  gentrv  in  the  city. 


IN  CHINA 


67  . 

Statistics — In  Taichow  field  there  are  2 organized  con- 
gregations and  7 other  place  of  worship,  with  199  commun- 
icants, and  a Christian  constituency  of  558.  In  4 Sabbath 
schools  there  is  a membership  of  260.  In  6 'day  schools 
there  are  214  students.  During  the  year  one  medical  mis- 
sionary with  three  assistants  gave  6,421  treatments  to  6,238 
individuals.  Eight  missionaries  with  a native  force  of 
1 1 reported  in  the  Taichow  field. 

HAICHOW 

Haichow  (1908).  From  the  time  of  the  establish- 
ment of  our  mission  stations  in  the  North  Kiangsu  Mis- 
sion the  missionaries  have  made  extensive  and  repeated 
journeys  from  Hwaianfu.  Tsingkiangpu  and  Sutsien  in 


WATER  BUFFALO,  MUCH  USED  AS  OXEN  IN  CENTRAL 
CHINA 


68 


IN  CHINA 


an  easterly  direction  toward  the  China  Sea.  Missionaries 
have  given  very  little  account  of  the  hardships  they  en- 
dured, but  there  were  hardships  and  many  of  them.  There 
was  strong  opposition  to  foreigners.  The  missionaries 
were  the  first  foreigners  to  visit  large  sections  of  this  great 
region,  in  which  there  is  an  immense  population.  These 
visits  were  gradually  extended  until  they  finally  reached 
Haichow,  about  one  hundred  miles  north  of  Tsingkiangpu, 
and  eighty-five  or  ninety  miles  northwest  of  Sutsien.  Hai- 
chow, “the  city  by  the  sea,”  has  a population  of  about 
25,000  people. 

Extent  of  Haichow  Field 

The  extent  and  needs  of  the  Haichow  field  are  elo- 
quently expressed  in  a letter  from  Rev.  W.  M.  Junkin, 
written  when  he  and  a fellow  missionary  visited  that  city 
to  open  the  work.  The  following  extract  is  quoted : “I 
climbed  to  the  top  of  Haichow  Mountain,  which  over- 
looks the  city.  This  barren  rock  mountain,  quite  pictur- 
esque, but  as  dead  as  the  empty  forms  of  heathen  moral- 
ity all  around  it,  must  be  a thousand  or  twelve  hundred 
feet  high.  It  was  a beautifully  clear  day  and  I could  see 
for  miles  and  miles  in  all  directions.  To  the  east  I could 
see  the  blue  ocean  which  stretches  out  to  America  with 
its  Christian  churches  and  lovely  homes.  In  other  direc- 
tions as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  were  village  after  vil- 
lage, town  after  town,  hundreds  of  them.  I knew  these 
villages  and  towns  and  the  busy  city  below  were  teeming 
with  men  and  women  and  boys  and  girls  and  not  a single 
Christian  in  all  this  great  multitude — comfortless,  godless 
and  hopeless.” 

A brighter  day  has  come.  Land  was  finally  secured 


IN  CHINA 


69 


and  from  small  beginnings  the  work  has  grown  until  we 
now  have  in  Haichow,  chapels,  missionary  homes,  good 
buildings  for  the  boys’  school  and  a girls’  school,  ,and  ar. 
excellent  hospital  plant.  The  homes  of  both  the  rich  and 
poor  are  open  to  the  missionaries  “in  a most  wonderful 
way.”  The  outlook  is  one  of  encouragement. 

The  Helen  Lavine  Graliam  Hospital  has  been  recently 
much  improved  by  the  installation  of  electric  light  and 
hot  water  heating  plants  and  the  ac'dition  of  much  new 
operating  equipment. 

Statistics.  There  are  in  the  Haichow  field,  24  places 
of  worship,  with  378  communicants;  in  6 Sabbath  schools 
we  ha\'e  a membership  of  600;  in  14  day  schools,  354 
students ; in  2 hospital  buildings,  1 missionary  physician 
and  two  medical  assistants  gave  6,421  treatments. 

YENCHENG 

Yexcheng  (1910).  Yencheng  is  the  most  recently 
opened  station  of  the  North  Kiangsu  Mission.  It  had 
long  been  regarded  as  a field  of  great  importance.  A 
missionary,  writing  of  Yencheng  and  the  field,  says : 
“Where  and  what  is  Yencheng?  Suppose  we  take  the 
name  for  a pneumonic.  ‘Yen’  means  salt,  and  ‘cheng’ 
from  the  sea.  So  this  is  the  salt  cily.  Now,  salt — Chi- 
nese salt — comes  from  the  sea.  Hence,  Yencheng  must  be 
a city  njar  the  sea.  So  it  is ; about  forty  miles  from  the 
Yellc<w  Sea  on  the  ^st,  and  about  200  miles  north  of 
Shanghai.  Thus  you  can  spot  us  on  any  map,  though 
your  English  map  may  not  mark  the  place  because  it  is 
not  known  to)  English-speaking  people.  Our  field  is 
bounded  on  the  east  by  the  sea ; on  the  west,  about  sixty 
miles  away,  by  the  Tsingkiangpu  and  Hwaianfu  territory. 


70 


IN  CHINA 


On  the  northwest  we  touch  the  Haichow  field,  to  the  south 
the  Taichow  territory,  and  on  the  southwest  we  touch 
the  field  of  another  mission,  but  in  all  this  field,  with  over 
1,500,000  people,  there  are  no  other  missionaries.  Some- 
body tresh  on  geography  can  suggest  a state  with  which 
to  comjjare  us.  Is  not  West  \'irgina  aljout  the  size  and 
pojxilation  of  our  Yencheng  field? 

Opposition  Followed  by  Success 

Alissionaries  met  with  the  usual  heathen  opposition  and 
difficulty  in  getting  a location  in  the  opening  of  the  station, 
but  these  obstacles  have  been  largely  overcome.  There 
are  missionary  homes,  a chapel  for  an  organized  church, 
quarters  for  two  schools  and  a hospital  building  on  a fa- 
vorably located  mission  compound.  The  hospital,  the 
only  one  in  that  territory,  met  with  prejudice  and  opposi- 
tion at  first,  but  it  now  has  official  recognition  and  the 
appreciation  of  thousands  of  the  diseased  people  treated 
by  the  foreign  physicians  and  native  assistants. 


Motor  boats  on  the  canals  multiply  many  times  the  work  of  mis- 
sionaries  in  the  outstatioin  fields. 


IN  CHINA 


71 


Hospital  Management 

The  following  statement  by  one  of  the  physicians  in 
charge  of  one  of  our  largest  hospitals  regarding  treat- 
ment of  i^atients  is  applicable,  in  the  main,  to  all  our  hos- 
pitals : 

“In  the  hospital  dispensary  each  patient  pays  a definite 
amount  for  one  treatment,  this  being  the  equivalent  of 
about  one  and  a half  cents  gold.  This  fee  includes  treat- 
ment and  medicine.  Patients  referred  to  the  hospital  are 
charged  according  to  their  ability  to  pay.  A man’s  known 
financial  alnlity  and  his  appearance,  clothes,  and  vocation 
are  considered  in  making  this  estimate.  The  wealthy  class 
are  required  to  make  substantial  payments,  while  the  mass 
of  poor  people  pay  but  little ; many  pay  nothing.  The  esti- 
mating of  a man’s  ability  is  done  by  the  foreign  doc- 
tor in  charge,  assisted  by  a competent  Chinese  assistant. 
An  increase  in  the  number  of  patients  during  any  period 
does  not  necessarily  mean  a corresponding  increase  in 
hospital  receipts.  The  amount  of  charity  work  done 
is  always  to  be  considered.  We  could  make  our  hospital 
self-supporting  in  one  month  if  we  so  desired,  but  to  do 
so  we  would  have  to  change  the  whole  character  of  our 
work  by  cutting  out  an  immense  amount  of  charity  and  in 
so  doing,  defeat  the  primary  object  of  the  hospital.’’ 

There  are  three  churches  in  the  out-station  field  of  ^^en- 
cheng.  The  work  is  conducted  from  four  centers.  Ade- 
quate occupancy  of  this  great  field  would  require  an  out- 
station  in  each  hundred  square  miles  of  territory — one 
hundred  and  thirty  in  all.  A great  work  has  been  achieved 
but  there  still  remains  a tremendous  and  needy  unoccupied 
field. 


72 


IN  CHINA 


Statistics.  Organized  congregations,  5 ; other  places 
of  worship,  23;  church  members,  1,030;  Christian  con- 
stituency, 1,546;  Sabbath  schools,  10;  pupils,  514;  day 
schools,  9;  students,  159;  foreign  physicians,  1;  native 
physicians,  1 : hospital  buildings,  2 ; dispensaries,  1 ; indi- 
viduals treated,  5,792;  treatments  given,  8,177;  foreign 
force,  9;  native  workers,  25. 

A Yencheng  School  Incident 

Several  }ears  ago  the  four  biggest  girls  in  the  Girls' 
School  at  Yencheng  were  compelled  by  their  parents  to 
leave.  Why?  They  were  all  from  heathen  homes,  but 
these  girls  v/ere  so  influnced  by  the  gospel  that  when  or- 
dered by  their  parents  to  prepare  incense  for  burning  on 
one  of  the  Chinese  feast  days,  they  refused  to  obey  be- 
cause they  had  decided  never  again  to  worship  idols  or  do 
anything  to  assist  in  it.  They  had  listened  well  to  the 
gospel,  and  during  some  special  meetings  for  women,  all 
four  had  said  they  wanted  to  follow  Christ. 

An  Appeal  for  North  Kiangsu 

A splendid  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  opening  of 
stations,  both  in  location  and  progress  of  the  work,  but 
an  enormous  population  is  yet  unevangelized.  A mis- 
sionary, writing  in  behalf  of  himself  and  fellow-workers, 
says : “Our  great  desire  is  that  our  branch  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  should  see  this  great  field  as  we  see  it — 
a desperately  destitute  field,  a field  for  our  particular 
church.  Two-thirds  of  Kiangsu  Province,  inhabited  by 
fifteen  million  or  more  people,  is  occupied  almost  exclus- 
ively by  our  mission.  Come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord. 
Occupy  North  Kiangsu  for  Christ,  our  King.  He  leads 


IN  CHINA 


73 


to  victory.  These  people  will  some  day  own  him  Lord. 
Will  you  have  a share  in  the  glorious  triumph  and  help 
to  ha,sten  that  good  day?” 

Spread  the  Gospel  Society 

In  a report  made  several  years  ago  mention  is  made  of 
the  Bu  Dao  Hwai,  or  “Spread  the  Gospel  Society,”  which 
is  organized  over  the  whole  territory.  The  members  are 
mostly  men,  though  there  are  some  women.  This  is 
worked  entirely  by  the  Chinese  themselves.  The  mem- 
bers all  promise  to  do  personal  work.  They  go  singly,  or 
in  groups,  on  Sundays  and  preach  at  various  points.  There 
are  thirty  such  organizations  in  the  field.  The  two  in 
Sutsien,  in  the  church  and  the  boys’  school,  hold  services 
at  from  twelve  to  twenty  different  places  every  Sunday. 

Craft  ©f  Priests  and  Nuns 

The  deceit  and  crafty  tricks  of  the  Buddhist  priests  and 
nuns  are  a grrat  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in 
the  home.  An  old  man  was  an  earnest  Buddhist  and  gave 
generously  all  his  lifetime  to  the  upkeep  of  the  temples 
in  his  cit}'-,  and  after  his  death  the  priests  came  to  request 
the  son  to  continue  his  father’s  lavish  gifts.  The  son  was 
a young  progressive  and  contemptuously  refused  their  re- 
quest, saying,  “My  father  wasted  too  much  money  on  you 
lazy  beggars  in  his  lifetime,  be  assured  I will  not  be  that 
foolish.”  The  priests  went  away  in  a hot  rage  and,  after 
some  consultation,  this  was  their  revenge.  They  bought 
a turtle  and  kept  it  in  a pond  within  the  temple  courtyard. 
Each  day  a priest  would  tap  upon  the  side  of  the  pond 
with  a stick  and  not  until  the  turtle  would  answer  the 
summons  would  he  receive  his  food.  After  six  months 


74 


IN  CHINA 


of  constant  training,  the  priests  all  assembled  at  the  home 
of  the  unbelieving  son  and  rent  their  clothes  and  filled 
the  air  with  their  cries.  The  son,  of  course,  came  out  to 
see  what  was  the  trouble,  and  they  answered  that  it  dis- 
tressed them  so  to  see  to  what  a low  level  his  sainted 
father  had  fallen  because  of  the  son's  stinginess : that  he 
had  returned  to  earth  in  the  shape  of  a turtle.  The  son 
refused  to  believe  this  tale  at  first,  ijut  after  persuasion 
consented  to  go  and  see.  When  he  was  taken  to  the  pond, 
the  priest  tapped  on  the  side  and  called  the  turtle  by  his 
father’s  name.  The  turtle  came  for  his  usual  feed.  The 
son  was  overcome  with  contrition  and  weeping,  fell  at 
the  feet  of  the  priests,  and  promised  to  ]:)ay  whatever  they 
required. 


COURTYARD,  CHINESE  INN 


Chapter  VI 


A SECOND  SURVEY 

Outstanding  Facts 

In  a preceding  chapter  a survey  was  made  in  the  form 
of  an  imaginary  tour  through  that  part  of  China  in  which 
our  principal  mission  stations  are  now  located.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  first  survey  is  a study  of  the  geography  of  our 
China  Missions.  In  the  same  chapter  brief  mention  is* 
made  of  some  of  the  social  conditions  of  the  people  con- 
fronting our  pioneer  missionaries.  A second  survey,  made 
after  fifty-seven  years  of  missionary  effort,  discloses  mar- 
velous changes  in  general  conditions  and  such  progress  in 
evangelization,  Christian  education,  and  the  ministry  of 
healing  that  the  church  at  home  and  the  workers  on  the 
field  may  gratefully  exclaim,  “What  hath  God  wrought !” 

The  violent  opposition  has  changed  to  a welcome  to  the 
missionary  and  an  earnest  appeal  for  the  gospel.  The 
gates  of  the  cities  are  no  longer  closed,  but  are  wide  open 
to  the  missionary.  Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  villages 
have  heard  the  message  of  salvation.  The  ignorant  have 
had  opportunity  for  Christian  education  in  schools  of  all 
grades,  from  primary  to  college.  In  theological  semi- 
naries, Bible  schools  and  medical  schools,  Chinese  pas- 
tors, evangelists,  Bible  teachers,  day  school  teachers,  phy- 
sicians and  trained  nurses  have  l^een  trained  and  are  qual- 
ified to  be  co-workers  with  our  missionaries  in  all  lines 
of  missionary  activities  including  administration.  Churches 


76 


IN  CHINA 


have  been  organized ; presbyteries,  synods  and  a General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  have  been  consti- 
tuted and  are  in  successful  operation  under  the  control, 
largely,  of  the  Chinese  ministers  and  church  officers. 

Regarding  the  ability  and  efficiency  of  the  Chinese 
preachers,  one  of  our  missionaries  of  much  experience  in 
church  organization  says : “The  organization  of  the  Chi- 
nese preachers  has  increased  in  efficiency  and  these  men 
show  a grasp  of  situations,  and  a zeal  and  courage  in 
working  them  out  that  they  did  not  know  a few  years  ago. 
In  reproving,  rebuking  and  exhorting  they  get  to  the  root 
of  the  matter.  Cases  of  men  taking  advantage  of  the 
uame  of  the  Church  are  handled  fearlessly  and  well. 
Money  matters  are  not  now  directly  administered  by  the 
missionary,  but  are  run  on  a budget  system  through  the 
presbyteries  and  the  local  Christian  bodies.  The  Chi- 
nese preachers  are  accurate  and  scrupulous,  and  they  show 
a disposition  to  wait  their  turn  and  take  their  chance  in 
desired  buildings  and  repairs.” 

Well-equipped  hospitals  have  taken  the  place  of  the 
unsanitary  Chinese  rented  rooms  of  the  earliest  times. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  have  been  treated  in  the  hospitals 
and  clinics  and  multitudes  have  gained  their  first  knowl- 
edge of  the  Great  Physician.  Medical  missionaries, 
through  schools  of  medicine  and  hospital  training,  have 
sent  out  competent  Chinese  physicians  and  trained  nurses 
to  take  the  places  of  the  ignorant  and  superstitious  doc- 
tors of  a half  century  ago. 

The  living  and  working  conditions  of  the  missionaries 
of  the  present  are  in  happy  contrast,  in  the  main,  with 
the  conditions  in  the  early  days.  Instead  of  inconvenient, 
unsanitary  places  in  which  to  live  and  work,  nearly  all 


IN  CHINA 


77 


Goddess  of  Mercy  with  a Thousand  Hands.  Covered  with  gold  leaf. 
One  of  very  few  images  expressing  mercy. 


78 


IN  CHINA 


our  missionaries  have  comfortable  homes,  located  in  com- 
pounds protected  by  surrounding  walls,  with  school  build- 
ings, hospitals  and  other  buildings  conveniently  placed. 
Much  remains  to  be  done  in  the  line  of  equipment  that 
will  add  to  sanitary  conditions  and  general  efficiency,  but 
the  great  advance  made  since  the  beginning  days  is  worthy 
of  note  in  our  second  survey. 

Such  are  some  of  the  victories  of  the  Cross  in  our  China 
Mission  helds,  achieved  by  our  inadequate  forces  with  in- 
adequate equipment.  The  work  is  still  “great  and  large” 
but  we  may  be  greatly  encouraged  by  what  has  been  ac- 
complished to  set  ourselves,  as  a church,  to  the  speedy 
evangelization  of  our  share  of  the  400,000,000  people  of 
China. 

Statistical  Summary 

The  following  statistical  summary  is  compiled  from  the 
last  annual  reports  received  from  the  missions: 

Regular  stations,  Mid-China  Mission,  5 ; Noi'th  Kiang- 
su  Mission,  8;  missionaries,,  Mid-China,  81  ; North  Kiang- 
su,  81  ; total,  162.  Chinese  workers,  all  classes,  both  mis- 
sions, 267 ; out-stations,  both  missions,  217 ; organized 
churches,  61  ; other  places  of  regular  worship,  299;  church 
members,  9,150;  Christian  constituency,  16,  477;  Sabbath 
schools,  164;  membership,  9,513;  schools,  higher  element- 
arA'  and  middle  schools,  57 ; other  schools,  171  ; hospital 
buildings,  25;  total  treatments  in  one  year,  199,404; 
schools  for  nurses,  5 ; union  educational  institutions — 
theological  seminaries  and  Bible  schools,  2. 

Outstanding  Facts 

The  first  outstanding  fact  is  that  the  advance  of  the 
mission  stations,  beginning  at  Hangchow  in  1867,  has 


IN  CHINA 


79 


been  made  with  the  strategy  and  precision  of  a military- 
campaign . So  signal  has  been  the  wisdom  with  which  the 
field  has  been  occupied,  that  in  reviewing  the  past  we  are 
led  to  see  that  the  opening  and  extension  of  the  work  in 
this  field  is  of  the  Lord  and  not  of  men. 

second  outstanding  fact  is  that  by  right  of  spiritual 
exploration  and  possession  the  entire  territory,  with  its 
teeming  millions  of  people,  has  been  assigned  to  our 
branch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  As  certainly,  there- 
fore. as  we  have  seen  the  hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  past, 
we  have  indication  of  his  purpose  concerning  our  future 
work  in  China.  It  is  ours  by  more  than  human  assign- 
ment, and  its  evangelization  becomes  a responsibility  we 
cannot  escape  if  we  would. 

A third  fact  is  the  remarkable  way  in  which  the  some- 
times especially  hard  fields  have  become,  not  only  acces- 
sible to  the  gospel,  but  fields  in  which  the  people  are  ap- 
pealing for  light.  The  day  of  opposition  has  passed ; the 
hour  of  opjxjrtunity  is  at  hand.  The  people  are  coming 
to  see  that  our  missionaries  are  engaged  in  a mission  of 
love  and  are  bearers  of  a message  of  blessing  and  peace 
hitherto  unknown  to  them. 

A fourth  encouraging  fact  is  that  just  at  the  time 
when  the  country  is  open  to  the  missionaries  comparativelv 
ease  and  speedy  communication  is  being  established  by- 
means  of  railroads  now  in  operation,  and  projected  lines. 
It  will  not  be  long  until  the  means  of  communication  be- 
tween our  principal  stations  in  China  will  not  be  by  house- 
boat, Chinese  cart,  wheelbarrow  or  on  foot.  These  anti- 
quated travel  conveyances  have  been  partially  displaced  by^ 
the  bicycle,  motorcy-cle,  motor  boat  and  railwayv  The 
day  is  at  hand  when  our  ambassadors  of  Jesus  Christ  in 


so 


IN  CHINA 


China  may  go  swiftly  on  their  way  to  deliver  the  gospel 
message. 

A fifth  outstanding  fact,  which  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  the  map  to  which  attention  is  again  called,  is  that 
the  location  of  our  mission  stations  is  such  that  a reason- 
able advance,  for  which  the  church  should  immediately 
make  provision,  will  enable  an  adequate  missionary  force 
to  rapidly  cover  the  entire  field.  It  is  an  inspiring  study 
to  trace,  city  by  city,  the  line  of  stations  from  Hangchow 
to  Hteuchoufu,  and  then,  follow  the  line  of  stations  through 
the  central  part  of  the  territory  lying  between  the  Grand 
Canal  and  the  Yellow  Sea  from  Chinkiang  to  Haichow. 

The  ear  must  be  dull  that  cannot  hear  the  call  of  God 
to  our  historically  missionary  church;  not  to  enter,  for 
entrance  has  already  been  made ; not  to  begin,  for  we  are 
far  past  the  period  of  begininng  our  work  in  China;  but 
to  make  haste  to  complete  the  work  by  sending  the  men 
and  the  women  that  are  ready  to  go,  and  supplying  ade- 
quate funds  for  support  and  equipment.  This  is  well 
within  the  aliility  of  the  home  church  It  is  a reasonable 
possibility  for  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church  to  com- 
plete the  evangelization,  in  this  generation,  the  millions  of 
China  for  which  she  has  made  herself  responsible  by 
definite  assignment  and  solemn  acceptance.  Shall  it  be 
done  ? 


